Guide: 11 ChatGPT features almost nobody uses

ChatGPT does a lot more than answer questions. I went through OpenAI's help center on 11/10/2026 and picked 11 features, with where each one lives in the app and what the free plan gets.

Button names can change a little between phone and computer. The names below follow the English version of the app.

⏰ 1. REMINDERS IT SENDS ON ITS OWN

Ask in a chat:

Remind me every Monday at 9am to pay the building fee.

It notifies you on the day, without you opening the app. To see or delete your reminders, open the Scheduled page in the menu.

Free plan: the help center says up to 3 reminders, once a day, in a time window (morning, afternoon or evening). The pricing page lists the feature only from Plus up. OpenAI contradicts itself, so check whether it shows up in your app.

🎙️ 2. VOICE CHAT YOU CAN INTERRUPT

In live voice mode, it listens and talks at the same time. You cut it off mid-sentence, like on a phone call. There are Brazilian voices too: Viola and Rio.

Where: Settings > Voice > Live.
Free plan: yes, with limited use. Go and Plus get 3 hours a day.

🧠 3. MEMORY YOU CAN DELETE

Say "remember that I'm vegetarian" and it uses that in later chats. You can see, fix and delete what it saved.

Where: Settings > Personalization > Memory. Saved memories and the delete button are there.
Free plan: yes, with less memory than paid plans.

✍️ 4. INSTRUCTIONS FOR EVERY CHAT

Write once how you want answers, and it applies to every chat.

Keep answers short and to the point, in US English. If you don't know, say so.

Where: on a computer, Settings > Personalization > Custom instructions. On the phone, Settings > Personalize ChatGPT.
Free plan: yes, up to 1,500 characters. Plus gets 5,000.

🕶️ 5. A CHAT THAT ISN'T SAVED

A temporary chat stays out of your history, doesn't create new memories and isn't used to train the model.

Where: open a new chat and tap Temporary.
Detail: if you pick Personalized before you start, it uses the memory and instructions you already have. It just doesn't create new memories.

📷 6. READ A PHOTO

Take a picture of a bill, a label, a sign or a lab result and ask anything about it.

Where: + button > Add photos & files.
Free plan: yes, up to 3 files a day. A photo counts as a file.

📄 7. READ PDFS, WORD FILES AND SPREADSHEETS

Send the file and ask about it: the cancellation fee in a contract, the total of a spreadsheet column.

Where: + button > Add photos & files.
Free plan: yes, with the same 3 files a day limit.

📁 8. PROJECTS

A folder with its own chats, files and instructions. Project instructions override your general instructions.

Where: sidebar > New project. Files and instructions are under ••• > Project settings.
Free plan: the help center says 5 files per project (25 on Go and Plus). The pricing page lists Projects only from Plus up. Again, check your app.

📹 9. SHOW YOUR CAMERA OR SCREEN WHILE TALKING

During a voice chat, it sees what your phone camera shows, or your screen.

Where: phone app, Settings > Voice > Advanced. Live mode, the default, doesn't take camera or screen.
Free plan: no, subscribers only.

🎧 10. RECORD A MEETING AND GET A SUMMARY

Record captures the meeting and gives you the summary.

Where: Mac app only.
Free plan: no. Plus, Pro and business plans.

🔊 11. TRANSCRIBE AN AUDIO FILE

Send the audio file and ask for a transcript and a summary.

Where: + button, picking the audio file.
Free plan: no, paid plans only.

🔎 WHERE EACH FACT CAME FROM

All checked on 11/10/2026 in the OpenAI help center articles on memory, custom instructions, temporary chat, voice, file uploads, projects, scheduled tasks and Record, and on the ChatGPT pricing page.