OpenAI has begun testing a new feature designed to give users more control over how they interact with ChatGPT. The company is introducing the option to select predefined ‘personalities’ for its chatbot, a move away from a one-size-fits-all communication style. The update is being rolled out gradually and is available to a limited group of users for now.
The new settings allow the tone and nature of the responses generated by the AI to be tailored to specific needs. Instead of the default helpful and often effusive style, users can choose from several alternatives. These include profiles such as ‘Robot’, which communicates in a concise and direct manner, focusing on efficiency, and ‘Cynic’, offering a more critical and sarcastic outlook. There are also variants of ‘Listener’, geared towards support, and ‘Sage’, to be enthusiastic and willing to share knowledge.
The personalisation function is available in the profile settings in the web version of ChatGPT, under ‘Customise ChatGPT’. In addition to selecting a pre-defined personality, the tool allows the user to define additional preferences regarding tone or the way the model should address the user. This step is in response to feedback from a section of the community, for whom the default style was sometimes ineffective in professional applications, such as code generation or data analysis.
In the background of these changes, OpenAI is preparing for its next major update, dubbed ChatGPT-5. According to the announcement, it is expected to merge the existing specialised models into a single, overarching system. The aim is to simplify interactions and eliminate the need to switch between different modes depending on the task, making the tool more integrated and efficient.
