ChatGPT lessons · Canterbury, Thanet & online
Learn ChatGPT properly, on your own device
ChatGPT can answer questions, draft an email, plan a week of meals or explain a news story in plain English, and the free version does a lot of it. In two hours at your home I'll set it up safely on your phone, tablet or computer, and we'll use it on things from your own life. If you'd rather learn by video, that works too.
£149 · 2 hours at home
Home visits across Canterbury, Whitstable, Herne Bay, Faversham and Thanet. Evenings and weekends by arrangement.
What we'll cover
Every lesson is shaped around what you want ChatGPT for. These are the usual building blocks.
Setting up
The real app, installed safely
We check it's the official ChatGPT app from OpenAI before installing it, then you sign in, typing your own password.
Voice
Talking instead of typing
Voice chat is included on the free plan. You ask out loud and it answers out loud, which is often quicker than tapping out a question.
Camera
Asking about a photo
Snap a plant, a label or an error message and ask what it means. The free plan allows a limited number of image uploads.
Writing
Drafting, then checking
Emails, messages and notes drafted in seconds, then rewritten in your own words. Checking what it wrote is the more important skill.
Planning
Lists and timetables
Trips, meals, a garden, a family event. It's handy for lists, and for changing them when you change your mind.
Privacy
The settings that matter
The few switches that decide what happens to your chats, set the way you want them.
The settings worth changing on day one
On the Free, Go and Plus plans, OpenAI may use your conversations to train its models unless you opt out. To switch that off, open Settings, then Data controls, and turn off Improve the model for everyone. New chats are then left out of training.
Two details catch people out. Pressing thumbs up or thumbs down on an answer can still send that whole conversation for training, even with the setting off. And for anything sensitive there's Temporary Chat: those chats aren't used for training and are kept for up to 30 days for safety reasons.
The free plan now shows adverts in the UK. Free users can switch to an ad-free mode, but it comes with lower message limits and no image creation or deep research. I'll show you where each setting lives on your own device, because the menus move around (settings checked October 2026). For more on privacy, see Is ChatGPT safe? Ten answers.
Free, Go or Plus: do you need to pay?
Everything in a first lesson works on the free plan. Here's what changes if you pay.
| Free | Go | Plus | |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK price | £0 | £7 a month | £20 a month |
| Main model | GPT-6 Luna | GPT-6 Luna | GPT-6 Sol |
| Adverts | May show ads (an ad-free mode has lower limits) | May show ads | No ads |
| Voice chat | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Live camera during a voice chat | No | Yes | Yes |
| Opt out of training | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Billing | Nothing to pay | Monthly only | Monthly only |
UK prices from OpenAI's pricing page, checked October 2026. The page doesn't say whether VAT is included. GPT-6 Luna reaches Free and Go users from 8 October 2026.
Five things to try in your first week
- Ask it to explain something you read today in three sentences, then ask: "What might you have got wrong?"
- Plan tomorrow's dinner by voice from what's in your fridge, and ask for a shopping list for anything missing.
- Photograph a label or a plant and ask what it is, then check the answer somewhere else.
- Draft a message you've been putting off, then rewrite it in your own words before sending.
- Ask it to test you on something you're learning, one question at a time.
Knowing when it's wrong, and the alternatives
ChatGPT sounds just as sure of itself when it's wrong as when it's right. It can invent facts, quote figures that don't exist and muddle dates, especially on local or very recent subjects. Good habits: ask it to search the web and show its sources, check anything about health, money or the law with a proper source, and treat its answer as a first draft. The jargon buster explains words like "hallucination" if you come across them.
ChatGPT isn't the only option. Google's Gemini and Anthropic's Claude both have free versions, and Microsoft's Copilot is built into Microsoft 365 Personal and Family subscriptions. If you already use one of those, we can learn it instead, or try two side by side and see which you prefer.
For £149 you get two hours one-to-one at your home on your own device, a printed guide written around what we did, and two weeks of phone help afterwards for when something doesn't behave. Want more than one session? The three-lesson course spreads it over six weeks, and online lessons work anywhere in the UK.
Questions people ask
Is ChatGPT free to use?
Yes. The free plan includes unlimited text chats within fair-use limits, voice chat and web search, though it now shows adverts in the UK. Paid plans start at £7 a month for Go and £20 a month for Plus (checked October 2026).
Do I need ChatGPT Plus to learn it?
No. Everything we cover in a first lesson works on the free plan. If you later keep hitting limits, we can look at whether Go or Plus is worth it for you.
Can ChatGPT see through my phone's camera?
On the free plan you can take a photo and ask about it, with a limit on how many. Live video during a voice conversation needs the Go plan or above.
Does ChatGPT remember what I tell it?
It can. The free plan includes a limited memory, including of past chats, and we'll go through the memory settings together so you decide what it keeps.
How old do you have to be to use ChatGPT?
Under the terms that apply in the UK, the minimum age is 13, and anyone under 18 needs a parent or guardian's permission.
What's the difference between ChatGPT and Gemini?
Both are AI assistants that chat, look at photos and talk by voice. ChatGPT is made by OpenAI; Gemini is made by Google and is now the main assistant on Android phones. We can try both in the lesson.
Who you'll learn with
I'm Ross Hayes, and I live in Herne Bay. I come to you, we use your own phone, tablet or computer, and I explain things in plain English. I never ask for your passwords or bank details, family are welcome to sit in, and there's no selling on the day.
Start with a free 15-minute phone chat, so I can check what you'd like to learn and which device you use.
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