Two Ways to Build Custom AI Assistants with GPT-4o – One is Free

OpenAI’s latest model, GPT-4o, offers advanced capabilities in reasoning, logic, and more, which users can harness for nearly unlimited tasks. Typically, getting ChatGPT to perform specific tasks requires extensive prompting, but creating a custom AI assistant can simplify the process significantly. Sabrina Ortiz of ZDNet reports on how users can create custom AI assistants using OpenAI’s GPT-4o through ChatGPT and You.com.

Benefits of Custom AI Assistants

Creating a custom AI assistant allows users to include specific instructions, such as the desired task and tone, eliminating the need for repetitive prompting. This is particularly beneficial for those using ChatGPT for regular tasks in personal or business workflows, saving time and effort in the long run. Setting up these assistants is straightforward and requires no coding.

Two Platforms for Custom Assistants: ChatGPT and You.com

There are two main platforms for creating custom GPT-4o assistants: ChatGPT and You.com. Each platform offers unique benefits, and both are easy to use.

ChatGPT

For ChatGPT users, creating a custom assistant within the platform may be more convenient, though it requires a ChatGPT Plus subscription, which costs $20 per month.

To get started, users need to:

• Visit ChatGPT and log in to their OpenAI account (or create one).

• Click on the profile picture in the top-right corner, then select "My GPTs" and "Create."

• Follow the prompts to customize the chatbot, including interaction style, tone, and specific instructions.

Once set up, the custom AI assistant can be published to the GPT store, shared via a custom link, or kept private. Users can access their creation anytime from the sidebar under ChatGPT.

For instance, a user creating a custom GPT to translate text into Spanish will only need to input the text without additional instructions in future interactions.

You.com

You.com offers a unique advantage by allowing users to build assistants using a variety of advanced models, including GPT-4o, Claude 3 Opus, Llama 3, and Gemini 1.5 Flash. This platform is free and lets users explore the latest models without switching between multiple applications.

To create a custom AI assistant on You.com:

• Visit You.com and click the "More" button at the top of the search bar.

• Select the blue "Add new" button next to "Assistants."

• Customize the AI assistant by selecting a base model, naming the assistant, and typing detailed instructions.

While the process is less intuitive than ChatGPT, being detailed in instructions ensures better performance. For example, instructing, “Take every text input and translate it into Spanish. Your tone is casual, like a friendly Spanish teacher,” combines several customizations into one assistant.

After creating the assistant, it appears at the top of the search bar for easy access in future tasks, allowing users to skip prompting and directly perform tasks like translating text into Spanish.

Conclusion

Both ChatGPT and You.com offer robust solutions for creating custom AI assistants with GPT-4o, catering to different needs and preferences. Whether through a subscription-based service with ChatGPT or a free platform with You.com, users can enhance their workflows with these powerful AI tools.