GPT fails – 13 common mistakes and errors you should know

I have written about how to use ChatGPT in SEO and content-related tasks like keyword research and title tags, as well as local SEO.

I use it daily at least for different tasks. You will learn more about its limitations the more you use it.

The founder of OpenAI, the company that created ChatGPT, has described it as “incredibly limited”, a ” terrible product“, and warned users not to rely too heavily on it.

ChatGPT has a very limited range of features, but is good enough in some areas to give the impression that it’s a great tool.

It’s a big mistake to rely on it right now for anything that is important. It’s an early preview of progress. We still have a lot of work to be done on robustness, and truthfulness.

Sam Altman, @sama

November 11, 2022

has published content with errors on important YMYL (“Your Money or Your Life”) subjects like personal finance and healthcare.

This article describes the most common technical mistakes and frequent errors when using ChatGPT, and how to correct them.

Common ChatGPT Errors

You’ve likely seen this prompt if you’ve used ChatGPT “for a long” time.

A new software product that is extremely popular in a rapidly emerging technology field will have problems.

Knowing the most common problems you might encounter can be helpful if you plan to use ChatGPT as part of your everyday workflow.

ChatGPT has the same issues as any website. These include 404 errors (not found), 5xx errors on internal servers, 403 errors of access denied, and Cloudflare error codes like 1020 or 524.

These can often be resolved by clearing your cache or turning off a VPN. Also, make sure you type the website address correctly.

There are also some errors that are specific to the platform.

1. API Issues

ChatGPT is often limited in terms of functionality, character limit, or token limit.

2. Character limits

The maximum number of characters that you can use in a ChatGPT response and the maximum number of characters that you can enter is limited.

The limits vary depending on the version of GPT (e.g. GPT-4 has a limit of 4,096), as well as the interface used, i.e. the API versus the web interface.

3. Connection timeout on long responses

ChatGPT will time out if it is processing an extremely long or complex response.

This can happen when you ask the platform to perform certain functions, such as writing code or analyzing long inputs and responding.

4. Unfinished Responses

It’s not an error, but it happens frequently that if you ask ChatGPT for code or to write a long message, the program will stop in mid-stream.

In these cases, you can continue typing and the prompts will be completed within a few seconds.

5. Limited messages

ChatGPT limits the number messages per period of time, even with paid accounts.

There are also different rate limits for OpenAI, GPT, and various account types.

6. Login Issues

Depending on whether you need to log in or not, and the duration of your session. ChatGPT can log you out or prevent you from accessing certain features if you have certain account statuses.

The majority of these problems can be resolved using:

• You can rework your prompts so that they fit within the character limit.
• Make sure you are logged in, and that you can access the features you want to use at your account level.
• You can ask ChatGPT for a response by asking it.
• Start a new chat.

Common ChatGPT mistakes

ChatGPT commits many errors, including:

• Verifiable facts are wrong.
• Detailing the “supposedly” process used to generate a response that is impossible due to the limitations of the platform.
• Generating broken code.
• The output may be incorrectly formatted or ignore instructions.
• More.

Some users have described how they used the platform lie in order to solve a CAPTCHA and to resolve simple math problems relating to age or distance.

GPT-4 has made some improvements, but not all. Here is an example of a prompt with output generated by the latest version ChatGPT.

It’s great to play “gotcha” and catch ChatGPT doing something incorrect or silly, but it’s even better to know the areas where ChatGPT is wrong. These are called “categories wrongness,” to use a phrase.

You will become a more effective output editor and prompt engineer if you understand these mistakes. Let’s go through the most common mistakes that I have seen.

7. Confident, but wrong

ChatGPT, and other AI-based solutions that generate new data, face a serious problem with “hallucination”.

ChatGPT can answer any question it does not know the answer to. This doesn’t mean the answer is correct.

This screenshot shows that there is no qualifying language used. You can get a definitive answer without any equivocation.

8. Understanding word and character counts

ChatGPT has a terrible time calculating and understanding character counts.

This is a big problem if you are working on SEO or content. You may be writing title tags, meta description, or content that must meet a certain word count.

This is pretty close. The tool has been much further off in the past.

9. Making mistakes in reasoning

I looked up “logic puzzles”, and I grabbed the list of “easy logic problems” that I found.

ChatGPT solved the first three puzzles correctly, but got the fourth wrong.

10. Coding errors

ChatGPT is being used by many people to create websites, browser extensions and apps.

ChatGPT is capable of generating code that does not work. When I used ChatGPT for code help, I encountered the following problems:

• The code doesn’t work properly. Actions are not executed by users when they use an application. ).
• The calculations built by ChatGPT code are incorrect.
• The wrong API was used. It’s often because it doesn’t know the API that you’re trying to use, because it was released or updated after GPT’s training data period ended at the end of 2021. ChatGPT does not let you know.
• Ignoring or “forgetting”, instructions or project requirements and constraints.

It’s important to always test and check the output of any ChatGPT-supported feature.

Users have also reported better results when coding in GPT-4 or legacy mode, rather than the default Turbo.

11. Information that is outdated

ChatGPT’s training data may be updated in the future. Plugins and tools are now integrating web crawling data and real-time data.

cannot crawl the internet and does not know about information before 2021.

It is particularly important when coupled with “confident, but wrong” issues.

12. Short Memory

ChatGPT can only “remember” a certain number of characters in a chat. This means that it may make mistakes because it does not remember the context from your initial prompts or answers.

13. Formatting mistakes

ChatGPT can make mistakes and ignore instructions, just like coding.

Avoiding and correcting ChatGPT mistakes

How can you make the most of ChatGPT, while addressing the issues and limitations of the platform?

Avoiding the negative effects of ChatGPT by focusing on these areas is key.

Limitations are there.

Keep up-to-date with product limitations, such as character limits, date of GPT training data, etc. This will allow you to create prompts which generate better responses and QA outcomes.

OpenAI is good at updating this information when new releases are released. They’ve stated that they will address some of these items.

Check and edit the outputs carefully

It should be obvious that you need to carefully review any code and text before deploying or publishing it.

Because ChatGPT is so convincingly confident, I would strongly recommend that a domain specialist review the content and code prior to deployment.

ChatGPT’s content and claims can be easily misconstrued, especially if the topic doesn’t fall within your expertise.

If you are familiar with a subject, it is easier to spot inaccurate or misleading statements.

Add tools and processes to the API

OpenAI released plugins for ChatGPT and made an API specific to ChatGPT available.

By using tools created by others or your own, you can overcome some of the limitations.

You can now use ChatGPT to its full potential, maximizing the positives while avoiding the negatives.

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