OpenAI launches Pulse: AI-powered morning briefings inside ChatGPT

OpenAI has introduced an innovative feature named Pulse within ChatGPT, designed to deliver tailored morning briefings to users while they sleep. This new functionality generates between five to ten personalized updates daily, ensuring that users are well-informed about the latest news, personal schedules, and specific interests, effectively making ChatGPT a morning routine companion akin to social media or traditional news applications. Pulse reflects OpenAI’s initiative to create more asynchronous, supportive tools rather than just interactive chatbots. It complements other features like ChatGPT Agent and Codex, enhancing the ChatGPT experience to feel more like a proactive personal assistant. Fidji Simo, the newly appointed CEO of Applications at OpenAI, stated, “We’re striving to democratize the kind of support that previously only the affluent could access, and ChatGPT Pulse is a significant first step in this journey, initially available to Pro users but aiming for broader access in the future.” Beginning Thursday, Pulse will be available to subscribers of the Pro plan, which costs $200 monthly, and can be found under a new tab within the ChatGPT application. OpenAI has indicated that Plus users will also gain access to this feature later as performance improves. Each Pulse brief is presented as a card containing AI-generated text and images, covering various topics from sports updates to travel planning. Users can delve into full reports, ask ChatGPT for more information, or request additional automated updates. Importantly, Pulse is designed to conclude after delivering a few briefs, displaying a message stating, “Great, that’s it for today,” which helps differentiate it from the ceaseless scroll of social media feeds. Additionally, Pulse integrates with ChatGPT Connectors, allowing users to link applications such as Google Calendar and Gmail. Overnight, Pulse can review inboxes to pinpoint important emails or create a morning agenda based on calendar events. If ChatGPT's memory feature is activated, Pulse can also adapt its recommendations based on previous conversations. Christina Wadsworth Kaplan, OpenAI's head of personalization, emphasized the feature's adaptability: “As a pescatarian, Pulse can manage dinner reservations and suggest menu options that align with my dietary needs.” In a demonstration, Pulse successfully generated a news summary for Arsenal FC, proposed Halloween costume ideas, and crafted a family travel itinerary, showcasing its ability to merge contextual awareness with creativity. By providing curated and context-sensitive reports, Pulse positions itself as a competitor to services like Apple News, various newsletters, and conventional media outlets. OpenAI assures users that it cites sources in a manner similar to ChatGPT Search. Product lead Adam Fry mentioned that the computational requirements vary significantly with different tasks, but the overarching goal remains efficiency. Looking forward, OpenAI envisions Pulse evolving into a more autonomous service capable of tasks such as booking restaurants or drafting emails, although these features are still in the experimental phase.