Free ChatGPT gets more generous, AI can book your dinner, and Copilot has a clear-out: This Week, Plainly #2

Hello again. This week the free versions of the big AI tools got a bit more useful, and one of them lost a few features. Here’s what happened, in plain English, and whether you need to do anything.

1. Free ChatGPT gets more generous

What happened: OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, said last week that free users would get unlimited text chats from this week, instead of being cut off after a certain number of messages. Free users are also getting a new Think button. Press it before you send a harder question and ChatGPT takes a little longer to work through the answer. By Friday the Think button had arrived on the ChatGPT website.

Should you care? 🟢 Yes, if you use the free version. You no longer need to ration your questions. Limits still apply to uploading files, making pictures and some other extras. Try the Think button for anything with a few moving parts, like planning a trip or comparing two broadband deals, and keep the normal mode for quick questions.

2. Your AI can now book you a table

What happened: On 10 August ChatGPT started showing available restaurant tables right in its answers, using the booking service OpenTable. Tell it where, when, how many people and what kind of food you fancy, then tap a time to book. It’s rolling out on all plans, including free, and the OpenTable part works in the UK. Two days later Google said Gemini will also connect to OpenTable in the UK, along with other services, over the next few weeks.

Should you care? 🟠 Handy if you eat out, but check before you tap. AI is good at narrowing down options (“somewhere quiet near the station with a step-free entrance”). Before you confirm, double-check the date, time and number of people, and look for the confirmation email from the restaurant or OpenTable. If it doesn’t arrive, the booking didn’t happen.

3. Microsoft’s Copilot app is changing, and some features are going

What happened: On 13 August Microsoft explained that it is merging its home and work Copilot apps into one updated app, gradually over the coming weeks. Free chat and picture-making stay. But three features are being retired from 18 August: Podcasts (AI-made audio summaries), Group Chat and, for home users, Deep Research (long, detailed reports).

Should you care? 🟠 Only if you’ve used those features. Group chats won’t be carried over, so copy any messages you want to keep into a document and download any pictures. Podcasts can be downloaded one at a time from your podcast library before the 18th. If you use Copilot on your phone, you may need to download the updated app. If you’ve only ever used Copilot to chat, there’s nothing to do.

4. ChatGPT can now test you with quizzes

What happened: Ask ChatGPT to quiz you on a subject and it now shows proper interactive questions you can answer inside the chat, instead of a list of text to scroll through. It’s available on every personal ChatGPT plan, free included, on the website and phone app.

Should you care? ⚪ Just for fun, or for learning something new. Try “Quiz me on the Tudors, ten questions, not too hard”, or use it to revise for a driving theory test or a new hobby. Other AI tools, including Claude, will happily quiz you too; they just ask the questions as ordinary text.

💡 Tip of the week

Ask your AI to ask you questions first. Before a bigger request, like planning a birthday lunch or writing a tricky letter, add “Before you start, ask me any questions you need.” You’ll get a few quick questions back, and a much better answer at the end.

That’s all for this week. Know someone who keeps saying they should “try this AI thing”? Forward this on. It’s free, and they can sign up at deadeasyai.com/news.