OpenAI is introducing a new ChatGPT feature called Pulse, which creates tailored reports for users overnight. Pulse provides five to ten concise updates to help users quickly catch up in the morning, aiming to make ChatGPT the first app people check each day, similar to how they use news or social media platforms.
Pulse reflects a larger transformation in OpenAI’s consumer offerings, which are increasingly designed to serve users asynchronously rather than simply answering queries. Tools like ChatGPT Agent and Codex are intended to make ChatGPT function more as a personal assistant than just a chatbot. With Pulse, OpenAI appears to be moving ChatGPT toward a more anticipatory role.
“Our goal is to develop AI that democratizes the kind of support once reserved for the wealthy, making it accessible to everyone over time,” wrote Fidji Simo, OpenAI’s new Applications CEO, in a blog post. “ChatGPT Pulse marks the initial step in this journey—starting with Pro users now, but ultimately aiming to extend this intelligence to all.”
Earlier this week, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman mentioned that some of ChatGPT’s new “compute-intensive” features would only be available to the highest-tier subscribers, which includes Pulse. OpenAI has previously acknowledged its limited server capacity for ChatGPT and is rapidly expanding its AI infrastructure with partners like Oracle and SoftBank to boost its resources.
Beginning Thursday, Pulse will be available to those subscribed to the $200-per-month Pro plan, appearing as a new tab within the ChatGPT app. OpenAI plans to eventually offer Pulse to all ChatGPT users, with Plus subscribers gaining access soon, but first needs to enhance the product’s efficiency.
Pulse can generate summaries of news on specific subjects—such as updates about a particular sports team—as well as more individualized briefs tailored to a user’s interests and context.
During a demonstration for TechCrunch, OpenAI product lead Adam Fry showcased several reports Pulse created for him: a news digest about the British soccer club Arsenal, group Halloween costume ideas for his family, and a travel plan suitable for toddlers for an upcoming family trip to Sedona, Arizona.
A sample of Pulse’s report cards (Credit: OpenAI)
Each report is presented as a “card” that includes AI-generated visuals and text. Users can select a card to view the full report and then ask ChatGPT questions about its content. While Pulse will automatically create some reports, users can also request new ones or provide feedback on those already generated.
A key aspect of Pulse is that it stops after producing a handful of reports and displays a message: “Great, that’s it for today.” Fry explained that this is a deliberate design decision to distinguish the service from social media apps that maximize user engagement.
Pulse integrates with ChatGPT’s Connectors, allowing users to link apps like Google Calendar and Gmail. Once connected, Pulse can scan your emails overnight to highlight important messages by morning, or review your calendar to prepare agendas for upcoming events.
If ChatGPT’s memory function is enabled, Pulse can also draw on previous conversations to further personalize your reports. Christina Wadsworth Kaplan, OpenAI’s personalization lead, shared that Pulse noticed her interest in running and included running routes in her London travel itinerary automatically.
Wadsworth Kaplan described Pulse as a “completely new feature” for a consumer product. As a pescatarian, she noted that Pulse checks her dinner reservations and suggests menu options that fit her dietary preferences.
However, it’s clear that Pulse could become a competitor to existing news services like Apple News, paid newsletters, or traditional media outlets. Fry doesn’t anticipate Pulse replacing people’s preferred news apps, and the feature provides source links just as ChatGPT Search does.
It’s still uncertain whether Pulse’s benefits justify the computational resources it consumes. Fry stated that the amount of computing power Pulse uses can “vary greatly” depending on the task—some are handled efficiently, while others require extensive web searches and information synthesis.
In the future, OpenAI hopes to make Pulse more autonomous, potentially enabling it to make restaurant bookings or draft emails for users to approve and send. However, such capabilities are likely some way off and will require significant advancements in OpenAI’s agentic models before users will feel comfortable delegating these tasks.
