ChatGPT’s new Study Mode – AI News – #1 August 2025

Do you remember that shiver of horror that swept through the world of education when ChatGPT became widely available? In teachers’ lounges and on parents’ forums, one topic dominated: how to check if a student has done their homework independently now? The vision of assignments, essays, and even entire theses generated with a single click kept educators worldwide awake at night. Artificial intelligence, hailed as a revolution, for many became synonymous with a digital shortcut and the end of the era of independent thinking.

Then suddenly, in a surprising twist, OpenAI—the creator of the “problem”—offered a solution themselves. And it’s not another security measure or anti-plagiarism system. It’s something much more interesting: Study Mode. A new feature designed to turn the logic of interaction with AI upside down by 180 degrees. Instead of providing ready answers, it teaches how to arrive at them.

At the heart of Study Mode lies a simple but fundamental shift in philosophy. Until now, interaction with ChatGPT often resembled a conversation with an all-knowing but somewhat lazy expert—you ask a question, you get a comprehensive answer. End of story. This is extremely efficient when you seek a specific piece of information, but in the learning context, it fosters passivity. A student who can simply copy the solution to a math problem rarely bothers to understand the logic behind it.

Study Mode was created to counteract this. Instead of handing over the fish, it gives you the fishing rod and shows you how to cast it. Activated during a conversation, it transforms the chatbot into an interactive tutor whose goal is not to solve the problem as quickly as possible but to guide the user through the thought process. As OpenAI itself emphasizes, the feature was developed in collaboration with teachers, researchers, and educational experts. It is designed to reflect key principles of effective learning: active engagement, cognitive load management, and stimulating curiosity.

On paper, it sounds great, but how does Study Mode achieve these ambitious goals? The new feature is based on several pillars that together create a unique learning environment.

This is the essence of the whole change. Instead of serving ready paragraphs of text, ChatGPT’s Study Mode uses something akin to a digital Socratic method. It asks guiding questions, invites reflection, and offers hints. If you try to understand Bayes’ theorem, you won’t immediately get the formula and definition. Instead, the AI might ask: “What do you think happens to our belief about something when we receive new information?” This leads to active learning where the student becomes the explorer.

Anyone who has tried to learn a complex topic knows the feeling of being overwhelmed. Study Mode breaks down information into smaller, easily digestible chunks. Answers are grouped thematically, and the chatbot makes sure not to overwhelm the user with walls of text. Thanks to this, complicated topics become more approachable and the learning process less frustrating.

Study Mode dynamically adapts to the user’s knowledge level. Based on their answers and previous conversation history, the AI senses whether it can speed up and introduce more advanced concepts or if it should slow down and return to basics. This makes the session feel like working with a private tutor who knows your strengths and weaknesses.

To make knowledge stick, you have to reinforce it. Study Mode regularly weaves quizzes, open-ended questions, and requests to apply newly acquired knowledge into the conversation. After explaining a topic, it may ask you to solve a similar problem or summarize the key findings in your own words, offering constructive feedback along the way.

Conceptual proofs and feedback from early users show that this is not just theory. Students who had access to the early version of the tool praise its effectiveness. One of them, Noah Campbell, described the experience as “24/7 access to consultations where you can get an answer to any question.”

A particularly illustrative example comes from a student who wanted to learn game theory. Instead of overwhelming him with definitions, ChatGPT in Study Mode first proposed a detailed learning plan divided into phases — from basic concepts through classic dilemmas (like the prisoner’s dilemma) to everyday applications. Then it began asking questions to check the student’s intuitive grasp of the subject before moving on to formal definitions, consistently linking back to real-life examples.

The creators openly admit that Study Mode is just the “first step on a long road.” Currently, the feature uses custom system instructions, which can sometimes lead to inconsistent behavior. Ultimately, however, these mechanisms are planned to be built directly into the core of the language model.

Planned improvements already include:

Introducing Study Mode in ChatGPT is an exciting signal. Technology giants are beginning to recognize their responsibility for the impact their tools have on society, especially on education. Instead of waging war on teachers, OpenAI seems to say: “give us a chance, and we will show that AI can be an ally, not an enemy.” Whether this alliance will truly revolutionize the way we learn remains to be seen. One thing is certain: the debate about AI’s role in schools just became much more interesting. We will definitely be following the progress on this, so if you want to stay up to date, subscribe to Delante’s newsletter!

Source of information about Study Mode in ChatGPT: https://openai.com/index/chatgpt-study-mode/