- ChatGPT’s new Tasks feature can schedule recurring reminders and alerts.
- ChatGPT can use tasks to suggest alerts and notifications proactively.
- Tasks is only available to ChatGPT Plus, Team and Pro subscribers for now.
ChatGPT has started testing a new feature that will make the AI chatbot much more effective as a digital secretary. The task tool, now in beta testing, extends ChatGPT’s responses with a schedule. This means you can set up regular reminders, alerts and other notifications.
You can even get a daily weather report at 7 to decide if you want to bring an umbrella, a monthly reminder to renew your library books, and all the birthdays of your colleagues you keep forgetting.
This is a big step for ChatGPT as a proactive assistant. Not only will the AI maintain your list of reminders, but it will even suggest some based on your conversations. For example, if you casually mention in a chat that you’re planning a trip, it might remind you to pack your passport, book a dog sitter, or double-check that your Airbnb has an ocean view. Of course, these suggestions only happen if you approve them.
No one wants their AI assistant to jump the gun and plan a romantic dinner for you and your ex. All of this scheduling power is managed through a dedicated task section in the ChatGPT web interface, for now.
Notifications for completed tasks appear across devices, whether you’re on your laptop or your phone, and there’s a limit of 10 active tasks at a time. However, you can change or cancel tasks as needed.
Task AI
For now, Tasks is exclusive to people who pay for ChatGPT Plus or ChatGPT Pro. Free-tier users will have to wait to see if this feature becomes available after the beta test, as OpenAI boss Sam Altman has hinted at looking at raising prices for existing subscription tiers even before this new feature rolled out.
Still, it’s notable how this feature moves ChatGPT toward more of the “agent” model, where it’s less reactive and more able to anticipate your needs. Of course, that depends on ChatGPT matching what OpenAI claims it can do without fumbling the job.
Other AI assistants sometimes have a checkered history, misguided reminders, or confusion about the date. And even if it is accurate, the draw of Tasks is still unknown. Proactive is by definition pushy.
Not everyone is comfortable with an AI telling you things without you initiating the conversation, even if it’s just to remind you to floss every night.
