From its origins as a startup driven by lofty ambitions, OpenAI has led the charge in turning large language models (LLMs) from academic projects into practical tools.
Ever since ChatGPT from OpenAI burst onto the scene in late 2022, it created a fast‑growing interest in AI and catalyzing a generative model arms race—rivals and peers scrambled to unveil their own large language models.
Anthropic rolled out Claude, Google followed with Bard and Gemini, Microsoft integrated Copilot across its apps, and numerous others developed tailored AI systems.
A fierce contest emerged, each vendor racing to innovate, capture users, and secure mindshare by demonstrating advanced capabilities faster than the rest.
Amid this maelstrom, OpenAI unveiled 'Study Mode', a new capability tailored specifically for those users who wish to use ChatGPT to learn.
The idea is to make ChatGPT deliver neat, polished answers.
Study Mode gently steers users through problem solving via scaffolding: asking Socratic questions, offering hints, prompting self‑reflection, and prompting occasional quizzes.
It adapts its dialogue to the learner’s skill level and even considers prior chat history to personalize explanations. Lessons are laid out in coherent sections, built to reduce cognitive overload and foster deeper understanding.
"ChatGPT is becoming one of the most widely used learning tools in the world. Students turn to it to work through challenging homework problems, prepare for exams, and explore new concepts. But its use in education has also raised an important question: how do we ensure it is used to support real learning, and doesn’t just offer solutions without helping students make sense of them?" said OpenAI.
The goal is to create "a new way to learn in ChatGPT that offers step by step guidance instead of quick answers."
As ChatGPT becomes a go-to tool for students, we’re committed to ensuring it fosters deeper understanding and learning.
Introducing study mode in ChatGPT — a learning experience that helps you work through problems step-by-step instead of just getting an answer. pic.twitter.com/B8VbRYJH6r— OpenAI (@OpenAI) July 29, 2025
In practical use, a student might ask ChatGPT about a concept—say Bayes’ theorem or feedback loops—and instead of receiving a single explanation, Study Mode first gauges the student’s existing familiarity and learning goals.
Then it delivers step‑by‑step reasoning, prompts questions, offers reflective pauses, and periodically quizzes the student to reinforce retention and application.
Users retain full control—they can switch Study Mode on or off at any time—but the mode’s friction is precisely intended to encourage deeper interaction rather than quick answer seeking. It also underlines that the responsibility for true learning remains with the learner themselves
To make this happen, OpenAI collaborated closely with educators, cognitive scientists, and learning‑science experts from around forty institutions as they developed underlying system instructions that encourage curiosity, regulate cognitive load, prompt metacognition, and deliver actionable feedback rather than just answers.
Study mode in ChatGPT is designed to be interactive, using Socratic questioning and scaffolded responses to help guide users.
Available to logged-in Free, Plus, Pro, Team users, with availability in ChatGPT Edu coming in the coming weeks.https://t.co/7ZndVHx2OF— OpenAI (@OpenAI) July 29, 2025
Since the goal is to make ChatGPT a tutor, the feature is a still at its early stage.
Work is underway to integrate visual aids, personalize tracking goals, and deepen learning analytics down the road.
From a neutral third‑party perspective, Study Mode appears positioned as a conscious shift in the AI‑education landscape: moving from being seen as a handy shortcut to positioning the chatbot as a patient tutor.
Critics warn that the very ease of toggling off Study Mode and requesting direct answers may undermine its intent, especially among younger users who might choose shortcuts over struggle.
There's also wider concern about academic integrity, given recent studies in the UK that show AI‑related cheating cases in schools rising from about 1.6 to 5.1 per 1,000 students in the 2023–24 academic year.
Yet teachers in pilot programs say it offers structured guidance—like a student test prep partner—when used faithfully.
Built in collaboration with educators and experts, study mode is our first step toward improving learning in ChatGPT.
Education is a key AI frontier, and through NextGenAI and Stanford’s SCALE Initiative, we’re running longer term studies to further understand how AI tools shape…— OpenAI (@OpenAI) July 29, 2025
The release of Study Mode is a signal that the battle for adoption is shifting from novelty features toward how effectively AI supports real pedagogy—and whether it can foster learning rather than shortcut it.
Study Mode is now rolling out to all logged‑in ChatGPT users—Free, Plus, Pro, and Team—as of July 29, 2025, with broader availability for ChatGPT Edu subscribers to follow in the coming week.