What is AI and how to ask ChatGPT your first question

This guide is for anyone who has never used an AI helper. By the end, ChatGPT will be on your phone and you will have asked it something. In 2024, only 1 percent of Dutch people over 75 used such a program, says Statistics Netherlands (CBS). You are certainly not too late.

Put this guide next to you and pick up your phone. Take each step calmly. You cannot break anything. If something goes wrong, close the app and start again.

AI is a clever helper that has read an enormous amount

AI stands for artificial intelligence. It means computer programs that have learned from a huge number of examples.

Imagine a helper who has read millions of books, newspapers and websites. You can ask him anything, in your own words. But his memory is not perfect. Sometimes he makes something up, and says it just as firmly as the rest. So use him as a helper. Not as a reference book.

What does that mean? A chatbot is a computer program you exchange messages with, just like on WhatsApp. Only the one answering is a computer, not a person.

You already use it without knowing

Your phone guesses the next word when you type a WhatsApp message.
Your satnav picks the fastest route and sees traffic jams coming.
Your email program moves adverts and fake emails out of your inbox.

What is new is that you can now talk to such a program yourself.

The easiest start is ChatGPT on your phone

This guide uses ChatGPT, made by the American company OpenAI. It is the best known, it writes plain English and Dutch, and there is a free app for the iPhone and for Android. Free is enough. You never enter bank details.

What does that mean? An app is a small program on your phone, such as WhatsApp or your banking app. You get apps from your phone's shop: the App Store on an iPhone, the Play Store on Android.

An iPhone has an apple on the back. Nearly all other phones, such as Samsung, are Android phones. Choose the part that fits your phone.

On an iPhone

Find the App Store on your home screen. It is the blue icon with a white A.
Tap Search at the bottom, by the magnifying glass.
Tap the search box and type: openai chatgpt
Tap Search on your keyboard.
Look at the top result. It should say ChatGPT, with OpenAI underneath.
Tap the button to the right of the app. It may say Get, or show a little cloud with an arrow.
If your iPhone asks you to confirm, use Face ID or your fingerprint.
Wait until the circle is full and tap Open.

On an Android phone

Find the Play Store. It is the icon with a colourful triangle, like a play button.
Tap the search bar at the top.
Type: openai chatgpt and tap the magnifying glass.
Look at the top result. It should say ChatGPT, with OpenAI underneath.
Tap the green Install button.
Wait until the app is ready and tap Open.

Tip: Fake apps that look like ChatGPT exist, and they quickly ask for money. If the name underneath is not OpenAI, do not install it.

Creating your account

The first time you open the app, ChatGPT asks you to sign up.

What does that mean? An account is your personal access, a kind of membership card. It lets ChatGPT keep your conversations.

You see buttons such as Continue with Apple, Continue with Google and one for your email address. The wording can differ a little.
On an iPhone, Continue with Apple is the easiest; on Android, Continue with Google. Your phone already knows you.
Prefer your email address? Type it in and follow the steps. You usually get an email to confirm it.
If the app asks for your name and date of birth, fill them in.
Tap through the welcome screens with Continue.

Tip: Write down how you signed up, for example "ChatGPT with Google". Choose another way later and you end up in a new, empty account. Never write a password on that note.

What you see next on your screen

The screen is almost empty, and that is how it should be.

At the bottom is a bar with text such as Ask anything. You type your question there.
Next to that bar is a small microphone. Tap it and say your question. ChatGPT turns it into text, which you can still read through.
At the top left you open the sidebar, with your old conversations and the settings.

Prefer the computer?

Open your web browser, type chatgpt.com in the address bar and press Enter. Sign in the same way as on your phone to see the same conversations.

You have your first conversation in plain language

Type a sentence, the way you would ask a person, and tap the arrow.

Example: this is what your first conversation might look like.

You type: I have leeks, potatoes and eggs at home. What can I cook with them for two people?

ChatGPT answers with three ideas, such as leek and potato mash with a fried egg, each with steps.

You type: Shorter please. Just the mash, in five steps.

ChatGPT answers with five short steps, from peeling the potatoes to frying the egg.

You type: What is blanching? Explain it more simply.

ChatGPT answers in two sentences: boil the leek very briefly, then rinse it under the cold tap.

You need not ask the perfect question straight away. Just keep asking, as with a person. To start on something else, tap the button for a new chat at the top, often a little pencil.

Five good questions to begin with

"What can I cook tonight with chicken, rice and a pepper?"
"I got a letter from the council about the waste collection charge. What does it mean, in plain English?"
"Write a warm birthday message for my granddaughter Emma, who turns 8 and loves horses."
"Plan a quiet day out by train from York, with little walking."
"What is inflation? Explain it in three short sentences."

Tip: If you copy part of a letter, leave out your name, address, ID number and account number.

A good question gets a better answer

1. Say who you are and what you want.

Before: "Holiday coast."
After: "I am 72 and do not walk well. Plan a quiet few days on the coast for my wife and me."

2. Give the details you already have.

Before: "What can I cook?"
After: "What can I cook with mince, green beans and potatoes? I have no oven."

3. Say how you want the answer.

Before: "What is compound interest?"
After: "Explain compound interest in five short sentences, with an example in euros."

If it does not work, do this

ChatGPT asks you to pay. Tap the little cross or Not now. The free version keeps working. After a great many questions in a row, it may ask you to come back later.

The answer is in another language. Type: "Please answer in English."

The answer is strange or too long. Ask again in other words, or type "shorter please". If that does not help, start a new chat.

You see no microphone. First tap the bar at the bottom. If your phone asks whether ChatGPT may use the microphone, tap Allow. Typing always works.

You have been signed out. Sign in exactly as you did the first time. Check your note.

Never type in these details

Most chatbot companies store everything you type, says the Dutch Data Protection Authority. So never type:

your BSN (Dutch citizen service number), Belgian national register number or any other ID number,
a photo of your passport, driving licence or identity card,
passwords, PINs and your DigiD details,
your account number, bank card number or a bank statement,
medical details about yourself or anyone else.

A handy rule: what you would not write on a postcard, you do not type into ChatGPT.

How to switch off training on your conversations

OpenAI can use your conversations to train ChatGPT. One switch turns that off for new conversations.

Open the sidebar at the top left of the app.
Tap your name or profile picture. Settings will open.
Tap Data controls.
Turn off the switch next to Improve the model for everyone. In your version it may be worded slightly differently.

Your conversations stay saved as normal.

Tip: If you give a thumbs up or thumbs down to an answer, OpenAI may still use that whole conversation for training.

Check every important answer yourself

ChatGPT always sounds sure, even when wrong. In 2025, European public broadcasters, including the Belgian VRT, had journalists check more than 3,000 answers from AI helpers about the news. In 45 percent there was at least one significant error. That is nearly half.

What does that mean? When an AI helper makes something up and presents it as fact, it is called hallucinating. It does not do this on purpose.

How to check an answer:

Ask: "Where did you get that from?" and open that source yourself.
Money or rules? Check the website of the tax office or your council.
Your health? Ask your doctor.

Take extra care with money and fraudsters

ChatGPT explains money matters well, like compound interest or what an ETF is. Type, for example: "I receive 2,100 euros a month and my fixed costs are 1,240 euros. How much do I have left?" The right answer is 860 euros. Still check it, because sums sometimes go wrong too.

Never let ChatGPT choose your investments. ESMA, the European regulator, warns that AI programs can mislead, are not supervised and have no duty to act in your interest.

Fraudsters use the same technology

AI can imitate a voice. In a 2024 Dutch government study, only 4 percent could tell for certain that a cloned voice of a well known Dutch person was fake. So a fraudster could call you with the voice of your grandchild, in a panic.

In June 2025 the Dutch consumer association found a deepfake on Facebook, a fake video made with AI, of the then Prime Minister Dick Schoof promoting an investment platform. The adverts had been shown almost 250,000 times. Victims were first asked to put in 250 euros, then more and more. In December 2025 the Dutch regulator AFM estimated the damage from investment fraud at 750 million euros in a year, while only 75 million euros had been reported to the police. Read also how to spot crypto scams before you pay.

What do you do if you are in doubt?

Hang up, or do not reply to the message.
Call back yourself on the number you already had.
Agree a secret question with your family.
Never transfer money because someone is rushing you. If you have been caught out, call your bank straight away.

Start today

Other AI helpers, such as Gemini from Google and Claude, work in much the same way.

Word list

AI: computer programs that learned from huge numbers of examples.
Chatbot: a program you send messages to, as on WhatsApp.
App: a small program on your phone.
Account: your personal access, a kind of membership.
Prompt: the question or instruction you type in.
Hallucinating: making something up and presenting it as fact.
Deepfake: a fake video or fake voice, made with AI.

Your checklist

Put the real ChatGPT app from OpenAI on your phone.
Switch off Improve the model for everyone.
Ask your first question and simply keep asking.
Never type in ID numbers, passwords, PINs or bank details.
Check important answers against an official source.
If someone calls in a panic about money, always call back yourself.

This is an explanation, not advice.

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