ChatGPT cannot be taught the way a student is taught, because a classroom chat does not retrain the underlying model. What a teacher can change is the guidance it receives: wording in the prompt, saved custom instructions, and, where it is switched on, memory of earlier chats. OpenAI's Terms of Use set a minimum age of 13 and require permission from a parent or legal guardian for anyone under 18, and its help center says that with children under 13 an adult must conduct the interaction.
Key takeaways
- Custom instructions hold explicit guidance, while memory holds details picked up from conversation; both shape replies for one account rather than changing the model for everyone.
- OpenAI's Terms of Use (effective January 1, 2026) say content may be used to improve its models, with an opt-out, and OpenAI described temporary chats as excluded from memory and training.
- Minimum age is 13, and users under 18 need parent or guardian permission.
- Canadian privacy regulators said in December 2023 that children are at particularly high risk from generative AI and recommended privacy impact assessments.
- Output can be wrong, and the Terms tell users to check it before relying on it.
What "teaching" ChatGPT actually changes
Three separate things get called teaching. The first is the prompt itself: a role, a reading level, and the task, stated at the start of a chat. The second is custom instructions, which OpenAI describes as a way to give direct guidance on what ChatGPT should know and how it should respond. The third is memory. When OpenAI introduced it in February 2024, the company explained that memory lets ChatGPT carry details from conversations into later ones, that the user can ask what it remembers, delete individual memories, or turn the feature off, and that deleting a chat does not erase the memories formed in it.
None of these rewrites the model. They add text and stored preferences that the model reads. Whether chat content is also used to train future models is a different question, handled by data controls. Menu names and defaults change over time, so the current settings screen is the final reference.
Which control does what
| Control | What it does | Reach |
|---|---|---|
| Instructions typed into a chat | Sets role, level, and task for that conversation | One chat |
| Custom instructions | Stores explicit guidance applied to new conversations | One account, until edited or removed |
| Memory | Retains details from conversations; viewable, deletable, can be turned off | One account, across chats |
| Temporary chat | Per OpenAI's 2024 description: not in history, no memory, not used to train models | One chat |
| Data controls opt-out | Asks OpenAI not to use content to train its models, per the Terms | One account |
Age limits and who may use it in class
The Terms of Use state that a user must be at least 13 or the minimum age required in the user's country, and that anyone under 18 needs a parent's or legal guardian's permission. The help center page on age requirements adds that ChatGPT is not meant for children under 13, that it may produce output not suited to every audience, and that in an education setting with children under 13 an adult must carry out the actual interaction. A school or district policy can be stricter than these floors, and in that case the stricter rule governs.
Student privacy in a Canadian and US setting
On December 7, 2023, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada and provincial and territorial counterparts published principles for responsible, trustworthy and privacy-protective generative AI. The document says children are particularly at high risk of significant negative impact from AI technologies, because they may struggle to spot biased or inaccurate output. It also advises developers to tell users whether prompts are used for further training, and it recommends privacy impact assessments. For a classroom, the practical reading is to keep names, grades, health details, and other identifying information out of prompts, and to have the school privacy office review a tool before students use it.
In the United States, the Federal Trade Commission's COPPA FAQ states that a school may consent on a parent's behalf only for the school's educational use and benefit, and not for an operator's own commercial purposes. That limit matters when an account is created for a class.
A starter instruction set for a classroom
The wording below is an illustrative example, not a tested template. It shows the kind of guidance that can be saved in custom instructions or pasted at the top of a chat.
- State the grade level and reading level of the audience.
- Ask one guiding question before giving a full answer.
- Mark any claim that needs checking and name the kind of source that would confirm it.
- Decline to write the final assignment text; offer an outline or feedback instead.
- Do not ask for, or repeat, personal details about students.
The model may still drift from these rules in a long chat, so they work best when a teacher reads the first few replies and adjusts the wording.
Checking what comes back
The Terms of Use say output may not always be accurate, that it should not be relied on as the sole source of truth, and that users must evaluate it, using human review where appropriate. In a class, that translates into a rule that any fact, date, quotation, or citation produced by the tool gets confirmed against a textbook, library database, or primary source before it enters student work.
FAQ
Can a teacher train ChatGPT on a class syllabus?
Not in the sense of retraining the model. A syllabus can be pasted into a chat or summarized in custom instructions so replies stay on topic, but the underlying model is unchanged.
Does ChatGPT remember what students type?
That depends on whether memory is on for the account and on the data settings. OpenAI has described memory as viewable and deletable, and temporary chats as excluded from memory. A shared class account makes memory harder to manage, which is a reason to check settings before use.
What is the minimum age to use ChatGPT?
The Terms of Use set 13, or a higher age where local law requires it, with parent or guardian permission under 18. Policies of a school board or district may add further limits.
Should students enter personal information to get better answers?
No. Better answers come from describing the task, not the student. Canadian regulators identify children as a high-risk group, so identifying details are better left out.
Related reading
- Building a study schedule with AI
- ChatGPT in teaching and learning
- How the ChatGPT chatbot works
- AI programs at US universities
More in AI in education.
Last verified: October 2026
Sources
- Terms of Use, effective January 1, 2026, OpenAI
- Is ChatGPT safe for all ages?, OpenAI Help Center, 2026
- Memory and new controls for ChatGPT, OpenAI, February 13, 2024
- Principles for responsible, trustworthy and privacy-protective generative AI technologies, Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada and provincial and territorial privacy authorities, December 7, 2023
- Complying with COPPA: Frequently Asked Questions, Federal Trade Commission, edited January 2025