OpenAI is rolling out a new feature called Pulse, designed to give users a personalised morning briefing while they sleep. Instead of waking up and scrolling through endless news feeds or social media, Pulse delivers a neat package of five to ten updates tailored to each user’s interests. These can include global news, sports highlights, calendar reminders, travel plans, or even personal recommendations.
The idea is to make ChatGPT feel less like a back-and-forth chatbot and more like a proactive assistant. Pulse reflects OpenAI’s push toward tools that anticipate what people need rather than waiting for them to ask. It’s being positioned alongside other new assistant-style features like ChatGPT Agents and Codex.
For now, Pulse is available to Pro plan subscribers, who pay $200 a month, and it shows up as a new tab in the ChatGPT app. Plus subscribers will get access later once the system becomes more efficient. Each Pulse report appears as a card with images and short text summaries. Users can tap to dive deeper, ask ChatGPT follow-up questions, or request a new set of updates. Unlike social media feeds that go on forever, Pulse stops after a few briefs and closes with a message that says, “Great, that’s it for today.”
One of Pulse’s biggest strengths is personalisation. It can connect with apps like Google Calendar and Gmail, highlighting urgent emails or creating a morning agenda from upcoming events. If ChatGPT’s memory is turned on, it can also learn from past conversations to make the updates smarter. For example, OpenAI’s personalisation lead Christina Wadsworth Kaplan explained that as a pescatarian, Pulse helps her by suggesting meal options that fit her diet whenever she has dinner reservations.
In a live demo, Pulse showed just how flexible it can be. It pulled together a news roundup for Arsenal football fans, came up with Halloween costume ideas, and even suggested a family travel itinerary. These examples highlight how Pulse mixes real-time information with a creative touch.
OpenAI’s leadership sees Pulse as a way to make AI support something everyone can access, not just a luxury for the wealthy. CEO of Applications Fidji Simo called it “the first step toward building intelligence that can offer everyday assistance at scale.”
Looking forward, OpenAI plans to make Pulse more powerful by giving it the ability to handle tasks like booking restaurants or drafting emails. Those agent-like features are still experimental, but the company is clear about its ambition.
With its blend of daily updates, personalisation, and real-time context, Pulse could emerge as a direct competitor to services like Apple News, newsletters, and even traditional media outlets. What sets it apart is that it cites sources, ensuring users know where the information comes from. For now, it’s just a morning briefing tool, but it points to a future where ChatGPT feels more like a personal aide who already knows what you need before you ask.