Skip to Main Content
Berkeley Law Library logo

Generative AI Guide for Law Students: ChatGPT

This guide provides an overview of generative AI and addresses how this technology is being used in legal practice. It also covered general GenAI news and tips.

ChatGPT?

ChatGPT, launched by OpenAI in November 2022, ChatGPT, ignited widespread interest in GenAI by showcasing its potential as a versatile conversational AI tool. Its debut marked a turning point, bringing GenAI into mainstream use and sparking rapid developments in specialized tools and applications. As a general-purpose tool, ChatGPT can be used independently for a wide range of tasks, and it also serves as the foundation for many specialized legal AI tools.

 

Top ChatGPT news: 

  • OpenAI introduced the ChatGPT Search feature on October 31, initially for ChatGPT Plus, Teams subscribers, and SearchGPT waitlist users. OpenAI plans to expand access to enterprise and education users in the coming weeks, with a broader rollout to all free users over the next few months.

ChatGPT – Free Version

The free version of ChatGPT has recently received significant upgrades.  Free users can now utilize several advanced features that were previously limited to paid subscribers:

  • Web Search: ChatGPT can now provide responses using information from the web.
  • Data Analysis: Users can upload files for ChatGPT to analyze, summarize, or create charts based on the data.
  • Image Understanding: ChatGPT can now analyze and discuss photos that users upload.
  • File Upload: Users can upload various file types for assistance with summarizing, writing, or analysis.
  • Memory Feature: This allows conversations to have more continuity.
  • GPT Store Access: Free users can access custom GPT bots in the GPT Store.

While free users now have access to these advanced features, there are some usage limitations, including a limit on the number of messages that can be sent using GPT-4o and lower overall usage limits.  Free users also don't have access to DALL-E for image generation.  

ChatGPT – Paid Versions

ChatGPT Plus ($20/month)

  • Access to GPT-4, GPT-4o, and GPT-4o mini models
  • Faster response times.
  • Priority access during peak hours.

Enterprise Plan (Custom Pricing)

  • Unlimited GPT-4, GPT-4o, and GPT-4o mini models.
  • Advanced security and admin controls.
  • Team management and priority support.
  • Custom GPTs for tailored workflows.

OpenAI o1-preview

On September 12, OpenAI released the o1-preview, a new series of reasoning models that are "designed to spend more time thinking before they respond. They can reason through complex tasks and solve harder problems than previous models in science, coding, and math."  The new models, which currently include o1-mini and o1-preview, are also referred to as Strawberry, their internal codename.

The new o1 models are currently available (with weekly message limits) to ChatGPT Plus and Team users, who can access them through the model picker. OpenAI stated a version of these models will be available in the future, and there are plans for added features like browsing and file and image uploads.

Ethan Mollick describes these new models as "amazing, still limited, and, perhaps most importantly, a signal of where things are heading" and the 9/13 Chain of Thought newsletter contends it "opens a new paradigm in AI progress."