I purchased a Plus account, at $20.00 a month, by today’s standards, a high subscription rate. I did so as I really need an “assistant” with creating documents. This past week I have been trying to create my first document. It required some internet research, compile data, put it together nicely, and output. All and all this document is about 16 pages. Something, if done myself I could have completed in say 2 to 3 hours. So honestly not that deep or extensive.
In very brief, it has been a week and I cannot actually get a completed document. I ran into links that failed, errored out and processes that halted all together because I was not holding the AI’s hand. If I check back in 4 hours rather than 20 mins, what difference should that make. Do the task assigned, do not “time out” just because I am not checking in! The performance I have been experiencing I would expect from the free version honestly. Then I end up posting here because open Ai doesn’t even offer support!
My question, as bad as my experience has been. If I had a pro account, a 900% price increase, would my call to process and memory allow me to actually get some work done? Is this “Ai” just too new to be a viable and reliable task performer? I need advice
Yes I am leaving a lot of details out, but I’ve tried to keep the post/question easily read and digested.
Thank you
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I completely understand your frustration—let me clearly explain what’s happening.
ChatGPT doesn’t run tasks independently in the background. It operates entirely through direct interactions. Once you provide a prompt, ChatGPT generates a response immediately, but it won’t continue performing tasks if you’re away or inactive. In other words, if you step away, the AI pauses completely, no matter how long you’re gone. Waiting 20 minutes, an hour, or even days won’t change this—ChatGPT doesn’t automatically complete tasks unless you’re actively guiding the interaction.
However, OpenAI recently introduced a new Scheduled Tasks feature available to Plus, Pro, and Team subscribers. This beta feature lets you set up specific, recurring tasks in advance, such as:
- “Send me a news summary every morning at 8 AM.”
- “Provide a daily motivational quote at 9 AM.”
These scheduled tasks can run independently at the specified times. But they’re limited to simple, predefined recurring actions—not extensive background research or multi-step projects.
To clearly summarize:
- ChatGPT (standard interaction): Does NOT run independently in the background.
- Scheduled Tasks feature: Can run simple, pre-set recurring tasks independently, but cannot handle complex, multi-step, background tasks like lengthy research and document preparation on its own.
For your specific case—assembling and completing a detailed document—ChatGPT still requires active, direct interaction from you to guide each step, regardless of your subscription level.
I hope this clarifies how ChatGPT works and helps you manage expectations and workflow more effectively. Let me know if you have further questions!
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