Lesson 664 of 2116
Making Your First GPT-Style Chat
A step-by-step starter that walks you from no account to a working chatbot session — and what to do if it asks for your phone number.
Lesson map
What this lesson covers
Learning path
The main moves in order
- 1From zero to typing
- 2account
- 3verification
- 4free tier
Concept cluster
Terms to connect while reading
Section 1
From zero to typing
Most chatbots are free to try. You will need an email address and may need a phone number for the verification text. After that, the typing part is the same as any email.
Step by step
- 1Open your web browser. Go to chat.openai.com (for ChatGPT) or claude.ai (for Claude).
- 2Click 'Sign Up' (not 'Log In'). Enter your email and a new password.
- 3Check your email and click the verification link.
- 4If asked for your phone number, that is normal — they send a 6-digit code by text.
- 5Type the code, click Continue, and you are in.
- 6Type your first question in the long box at the bottom and press Enter.
Key terms in this lesson
The big idea: the setup takes ten minutes once. After that, it is just typing.
End-of-lesson quiz
Check what stuck
15 questions · Score saves to your progress.
Tutor
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