These 7 handy ChatGPT settings are off by default - here's what you're missing

## Summary
Screenshot by David Gewirtz/ZDNET When ChatGPT releases a new model, I often go to this menu and choose the model I've been most recently using from the legacy list. Screenshot by David Gewirtz/ZDNET If you want to change ChatGPT's personality, go to the Personalization tab, change its overall base style, and then tune its characteristics. Screenshot by David Gewirtz/ZDNET Go ahead and fill in your nickname if you'd like -- something else I'd prefer to avoid because I really don't want ChatGPT to regularly say, "I'm sorry, Dave. Screenshot by David Gewirtz/ZDNET All of that is controlled in the Memory section of the Personalization tab (way at the bottom of the scroll).

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These 7 handy ChatGPT settings are off by default - here's what you're missing
Stop using ChatGPT on factory settings. Here are the top adjustments I use to make it a pro tool.
Written by
David Gewirtz,
Senior Contributing Editor
Senior Contributing Editor
March 21, 2026 at 3:00 a.m. PT
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ChatGPT has come a long way since its introduction in 2022. Usually, when we discuss improvements, we talk about how the AI model has gotten better, safer, and smarter.
But if you deconstruct the name ChatGPT, you're left with "chat" and "GPT," where GPT means generative, pre-trained transformer (that's the AI part). Today, we're going to dig into the chat side, because ChatGPT has become a far more full-featured AI chat app than it was back when it first launched.
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I'm using ChatGPT in Chrome on my desktop. But many of the tips I'm going to share work in both the standalone ChatGPT apps and the mobile versions. Also, I'll show you some settings available only in the free and Go plan tiers, and others available in the Plus and above tiers.
Let's first start with settings and how to get to them.
(Disclosure: Ziff Davis, ZDNET's parent company, filed an April 2025 lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.)
Accessing settings
You can access your settings by tapping your account name in the lower-left corner of your screen. Notice there are menu items for Personalization and Settings.
Screenshot by David Gewirtz/ZDNET
These both go to the same settings panel. The only difference is that Settings opens the General tab, while Personalization opens the Personalization tab.
Screenshot by David Gewirtz/ZDNET
Did these need to be two menu items? No, not really. But the OpenAI folks are probably spending a lot more time talking to machines than to real people.
1. Customize appearance
You can customize the appearance of your chat experience via the General tab of the Settings screen.
Screenshot by David Gewirtz/ZDNET
You can choose between dark and light mode (shown at 1). I have mine set to System, so if I switch my Mac to dark mode, ChatGPT's interface will change as well.
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One of the smaller quality-of-life features is the accent color (shown at 2). I changed mine to green, so my prompts stand out nicely from the AI's responses.
2. Choose your model
A very powerful feature available to Plus users and above is the ability to choose the model ChatGPT uses. You can turn this on by toggling Show Additional Models on the General tab (marked 3 in the screenshot above).
Once you turn on Show Additional Models, you'll be able to access the drop-down model picker from the upper left of the chat window.
Screenshot by David Gewirtz/ZDNET
When ChatGPT releases a new model, I often go to this menu and choose the model I've been most recently using from the legacy list. For example, when 5.5 comes out, I'll initially set my model to the legacy 5.4 model. This is because I like to test the new model and get used to it before relying on it for my day-to-day work.
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The other choice I often make is to switch between Auto and Thinking. I usually like Auto because if there's a fast answer to an easy question, why wait? ChatGPT will choose the model best suited to the question. But sometimes I want to be sure it takes extra time to think through an answer, usually for a tougher or more nuanced question. Then I switch to the Thinking model.
3. Customize ChatGPT's personality
Let me be perfectly clear: I do not, ever, want my AI to have a personality. I don't want it to be extra friendly, extra nerdy, extra cynical, and I sure as heck don't want it to be extra quirky. That is my idea of hell. Many vendors are trying to increase the perkiness of their AIs (I'm looking at you, Alexa+), thinking they'll be more appealing to users. I'm actually quite grateful that OpenAI includes settings that let me turn those options off.
On the other hand, my wife, who has her own ChatGPT Plus account, prefers ChatGPT to be warm and friendly, so she's set her base style to Friendly, and changed her Warm option to More (Friendlier and more personable). She likes how ChatGPT feels supportive during conversations with those settings turned on.
Screenshot by David Gewirtz/ZDNET
If you want to change ChatGPT's personality, go to the Personalization tab, change its overall base style, and then tune its char

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## Expert Analysis

### Merits
- Innovation Home Innovation Artificial Intelligence These 7 handy ChatGPT settings are off by default - here's what you're missing Stop using ChatGPT on factory settings.
- This means that as you chat with it, it will make notes of things it thinks will be important later.

### Areas for Consideration
N/A

### Implications
- I have mine set to System, so if I switch my Mac to dark mode, ChatGPT's interface will change as well.
- ChatGPT will choose the model best suited to the question.
- Screenshot by David Gewirtz/ZDNET If you want to change ChatGPT's personality, go to the Personalization tab, change its overall base style, and then tune its characteristics.
- This means that as you chat with it, it will make notes of things it thinks will be important later.

### Expert Commentary
This article covers chatgpt, settings, model topics. Notable strengths include discussion of chatgpt. Readability: Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.0. Word count: 2253.