Customizing the style of ChatGPT: a new opportunity also for teaching

OpenAI has introduced a new feature in ChatGPT that allows you to customize the assistant's communication style, adapting it to the user's needs and the context of use. This is not a change in the "intellectual" capabilities of AI, but an intervention in the way content is expressed: tone, warmth, level of enthusiasm, text structure and use of emojis.

For the world of schools, this novelty represents a concrete opportunity to make interaction with AI more consistent with educational objectives, with the age of the students and with the disciplinary context.

In teaching, form is often as important as content. An explanation may be correct but not very effective if the language is not appropriate for the audience. The new "Features" section allows teachers to model ChatGPT as a real personalized teaching assistant, capable of:

• adopt a more encouraging tone with younger students;
• maintain a sober and rigorous style in academic contexts;
• structure the answers in a clear and schematized way;

• Use (or restrict) visuals such as emojis depending on your grade level.

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• How to configure "Features"

  Within the Personalization settings, the Features section is now available, which allows you to intervene on four key aspects of communication:

  1. Warmth
     It affects the degree of empathy and closeness of language.
     Useful for: introductory explanations, tutoring, study support.

  2. Enthusiasm
     Determine how energetic and motivating your tone is.
     Useful for: brainstorming activities, creative writing, motivation.

  3. Using headings and lists
     Affects the structure and organization of responses.
     Useful for: study schemes, concept maps, reviews.

  4. Emojis
     They add a visual and emotional component to the text.
     Useful for: primary school, informal communications, engagement.

  Each parameter can be set on three levels: more, default or less, with immediate effect on the answers.

  It is important to emphasize one key point: the Features do not affect the accuracy, analysis, or quality of the content produced by ChatGPT. The information remains the same; what changes is the way they are presented.

  In didactic terms, it is like asking the same teacher to explain a concept:

1. to a primary school class,
2. to secondary school students,
3. or in an adult training course.

• The content does not change, but the communicative register does.

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  Examples of use at school

  • Primary
    school High warmth and enthusiasm, moderate use of emojis, short and structured responses.

  • Lower
    secondary school Engaging but more controlled tone, lists and headings to encourage study.

  • Lower
    secondary school Reduction of emojis, greater structural clarity, more formal language.

  • Teacher
    training Professional, direct style, with strong use of lists, conceptual tables and summaries.

  Features do not replace existing styles (Professional, Friendly, Technical, Direct, etc.), but refine them. For example, you can start with a "Professional" style and make it warmer or more structured according to the educational context.

  For a teacher, this means being able to adapt ChatGPT:

  • to the discipline taught,

  • at school grade,

  • at the time of the activity (explanation, verification, recovery, laboratory).

  The feature, while very useful, has some limitations:

  • it is not possible to completely turn off emojis;

  • different configurations cannot be saved for different contexts;

  • Availability may vary by version and platform.

  For this reason, it is important to educate students to a conscious use of the tool, explaining that the communication style can be regulated, but it must always be critically evaluated.

   

  With the introduction of the Features, OpenAI takes a significant step towards a more flexible, inclusive and attentive artificial intelligence to educational contexts. The ability to modulate the tone and form of responses makes ChatGPT an even more suitable tool for schools, not as a substitute for the teacher, but as an intelligent support for design, explanation and study.

  For teachers, this feature represents a concrete opportunity to integrate AI in a more effective, responsible and pedagogically consistent way.

  ChatGPT
  
  Maestro Roberto - Technologies and Didactics