What do you have for me today? ChatGPT delivers personalized morning briefings to Pro users

OpenAI has launched ChatGPT Pulse, a new mobile feature that delivers personalized daily updates to Pro subscribers based on their chat history and connected apps. The preview feature represents OpenAI’s latest push toward proactive AI assistance, with the AI model conducting overnight research to surface relevant information each morning rather than waiting for users to initiate conversations.

How it works: ChatGPT Pulse analyzes user chat history, preferences, and optional Gmail and Google Calendar connections each night to generate morning updates.

• Users receive visual “cards” containing topic summaries that can be expanded for detail, covering areas like project follow-ups, dinner suggestions, or travel recommendations.
• Updates appear once daily and disappear after 24 hours unless users save them or ask follow-up questions, which converts them into standard chat conversations.
• Users can provide feedback through thumbs up or down ratings and request specific topics through a “curate” button.

Key integrations: The feature can connect to Gmail and Google Calendar for enhanced personalization, though these integrations are off by default.

• When Calendar is connected, ChatGPT might draft sample meeting agendas, remind users to buy birthday gifts, or surface restaurant recommendations for upcoming trips.
• OpenAI calls this approach “asynchronous research,” essentially having the AI model generate queries and responses overnight using traditional methods.

The big picture: Pulse builds on OpenAI’s January introduction of Tasks, which lets subscribers schedule specific actions, but takes automation further by having ChatGPT choose what information to research and present.

• Both features reflect OpenAI’s broader push toward “agentic AI,” where AI models operate autonomously within defined boundaries rather than simply responding to prompts.
• OpenAI describes Pulse as “the first step toward a new paradigm for interacting with AI” and envisions future versions connecting to additional apps with updates throughout the day.

Performance reality: Like most AI products based on large language models, Pulse’s success rate varies significantly by topic.

• OpenAI tested the feature with college students through its ChatGPT Lab program, finding that users “started to feel its utility once they started telling ChatGPT what they wanted to see.”
• The company acknowledges that Pulse “won’t always get things right” and may suggest tips for completed projects or miss relevant topics entirely.

Availability and pricing: The feature currently works only on mobile devices for Pro tier subscribers, who pay $200 per month for access to OpenAI’s most capable models.

• OpenAI plans to expand Pulse to Plus subscribers (who pay $20 monthly) after gathering feedback from the initial release, with an eventual goal of making it available to free users.