What is Chat GPT’s Study Mode? OpenAI Launches New Feature to Help Students in Improving Critical Thinking Skills

OpenAI launched a new feature in ChatGPT, Study Mode. It is designed to support teachers in nurturing critical thinking skills and to encourage students to engage in a deeper way with the pursuit of learning. And instead of instantly answering questions, ChatGPT is now asking the questions and providing hints to help users along.

It’s accessible to all existing users in Free, Plus, Pro, and Team modes. OpenAI said it will make the feature available to students through school-run licenses in the coming weeks.

This new mode breaks answers into clear sections. It employs techniques such as Socratic questioning and reflective prompts to help students understand concepts better. The new mode also provides individual feedback and knowledge checks based on previous chats, in the form of quizzes or open-ended questions.

OpenAI admitted that Study Mode might show some inconsistencies for now. It is implemented using custom system instructions and will be fine-tuned with feedback. The company aims to integrate this mode into the main AI system eventually.

The launch has come at a time when schools are still figuring out where AI fits into learning. In a recent study, students who used ChatGPT to help with essays had less brain activity compared with those who consulted Google or received no help at all. Study Mode is one of the ways OpenAI says it can help change that by making learning more active and personal.

It follows a similar move by Anthropic, which released a ‘Learning Mode’ for its Claude chatbot earlier this year. OpenAI considers Study Mode to be the first step toward turning ChatGPT into a true educational resource. Additional features will be rolled out as they gather feedback from users.

For now, there are no parental or teacher controls to lock students into Study Mode, but OpenAI’s education team says they are considering it for the future.