ChatGPT turns 2: How this AI evolved from concept to conversations

Two years ago, ChatGPT burst into the tech scene, turning a curious experiment into our everyday, digital sidekick. But what was once labelled a chatbot can certainly do a lot more today. From crafting well-worded essays to being an agony aunt, ChatGPT evolved into a silent partner in creativity and problem-solving.

In fact, before we knew it, OpenAI’s ChatGPT invited debates, made news and sparked global discussions. And apart from challenging traditional work methods, it made AI accessible to just about everyone today.

On November 30, the conversational artificial intelligence model turns two, and it marks a pivotal moment in the ongoing narrative of human-machine interaction. For its second birthday, we take a quick look back at everything ChatGPT achieved in 2024.

ChatGPT in 2024: A year of milestones

Although launched in 2023, this was the year, that the chatbot found its groove — and OpenAI certainly kept its users on their toes with its time-to-time updates. From rolling out ChatGPT Plus to introducing Advanced Voice Mode, 2024 had everything from minor tweaks to revolutionary changes. Here’s a look back at some of them.

January 2024: ChatGPT Plus launched

In January 2024, OpenAI rolled out ChatGPT Plus in an attempt to turn the conversational bot more robust. The paid subscription service offered a paywall with a $20 subscription to highlight the value of AI assistance. And the benefits? Faster processing time, priority access to features and early previews for interested ones.

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This change opened the doors for both enthusiasts and professionals alike. While some framed it as necessary, others mentioned how it only adds a recurring expense to their digital ecosystem. However, this move eventually made it clear to a larger audience that ChatGPT was not just another ‘cool experiment’, and the makers certainly wanted to evolve it into a serious productivity tool.

February 2024: Memory comes to ChatGPT

In February, ChatGPT got an update that both terrified and fascinated users around the world. The new feature, called ‘Memory’, allowed the chatbot to remember and fetch details from previous conversations. The addition was aimed at creating a more personalised experience, and users could have more conversational interactions rather than isolated chats with the AI bot.

With Memory, ChatGPT could remember (and reference back to) everything from your favourite brand of cereal to your classmate’s name, if you happened to mention it in a conversation at some point. While some loved these contextual and personalised conversations, others raised valid arguments about privacy implications.

In either case, OpenAI’s Memory feature wasn’t just a ‘new update’, but a landmark change that gave us a glimpse into the length of AI’s reach in the future.

May 2024: OpenAI rolls out GPT-4o

Shortly after, ChatGPT got its most ‘advanced flagship model’. Unlike other upgrades, this leap made the AI bot’s interaction with humans more natural. GPT-4o came with faster responses and improved multi-lingual capabilities, and if that wasn’t all, it also lent a more nuanced understanding of context as well as emotions.

The ‘o’, which stands for ‘omni’, showcased live conversations, along with the model handling voice, text, and even visual interactions with unusual fluidity. The development set ChatGPT apart from other AI models in the race and brought new possibilities to the ever-evolving AI landscape. If nothing else, GPT-4o certainly reinforced that the line between human and machine communication was getting blurrier by the day.

July 2024: OpenAI introduces SearchGPT

In July, OpenAI quietly began testing SearchGPT, a move that marked its debut and challenged traditional search engines. The company mentioned how it would eventually stray away from simply ‘posting links’ and would provide direct, conversational answers to user queries.

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Early testers were privy to a search experience that could easily summarise information, tackle complex queries and also offer quirky insights when required. The test also met with criticism, and several users called the attempt an ‘overhyped tech experiment’. However, it wasn’t until the first week of November that the company finally unveiled a stable version of its search engine, known as ChatGPT Search.

Today, ChatGPT Search runs on an enhanced version of OpenAI’s GPT-4 model. It also brings a significant change to its knowledge cutoff, which earlier ranged between 2021 to 2023, depending on the model.

September 2024: Advanced Voice Mode rolls out

In September, OpenAI introduced a new update that made talking to the chatbot feel more like a conversation and less like talking to a machine — a dramatically improved voice mode. Known as the ‘Advanced Voice Mode‘, the new voice interface could detect emotions, understand context and retort with ‘human-like’ nuances.

This change allowed ChatGPT to take pauses, laugh and stutter while having a full-fledged conversation with a human. The conversations also began feeling more natural and fluid. It brought in five new voices, including Arbor, Maple, Sol, Spruce, and Vale, which brought the total number to nine.

Some were impressed by the technology’s ability to mimic human conversation, but many remained skeptical about how creepily realistic AI interactions are becoming.

November 2024: Build up to Orion

Currently, OpenAI is gearing up for its next big flagship update in December. However, it hasn’t shied away from bringing in other changes, such as an improved desktop app with Advanced Voice Mode, before it does.

The company recently also introduced ‘Vision’ with a ‘Live Camera’ feature, which allows the model to see, and have real-time conversations with users. If that’s not all, rumours also suggest that the conversational bot might be working on an agent that’s capable of multi-stepping tasks on behalf of a user. This could be similar to the likes of Anthropic’s Claude and may be helpful while writing codes and also browsing the web if required.

From a humble chatbot to a multi-tasking assistant, ChatGPT has undoubtedly had a great second year. And with all this and more on its plate, 2025 also seems like a busy year for OpenAI. Needless to say, we can’t wait to see where it takes us!