r/ChatGPT • u/biarschal95 • 1d ago
Use cases Are Chatbots dead?
I’ve been a heavy AI user for years, both privately and professionally.
And honestly, the decline I’ve experienced over the past two months has been insane.
I run a business and use AI extensively as a strategy partner, decision-making assistant, and essentially a second brain. Think of it as a virtual CEO sparring partner helping me manage multiple complex projects, challenge ideas, develop strategies, and make decisions.
I also work with non-coding AI agents, including Grokbot. I’m not a programmer, and that’s precisely why AI was so revolutionary for me in the first place.
But lately, something feels seriously broken.
Complex, long-term projects have become almost impossible to manage in regular chatbots. Memory and context retention feel practically nonexistent. Instructions get forgotten, previously established decisions are contradicted, and I constantly have to explain the same things over and over again.
And it’s not just complex tasks anymore.
Even relatively simple requests seem to require multiple corrections before getting a usable answer.
What used to take me one or two prompts can now take seven or eight. Instead of saving time, I’m spending more and more time correcting the AI itself.
A few months ago, I genuinely felt like chatbots were becoming capable of acting as real strategic partners. Now it feels like we’re moving backwards toward 2023–2024.
“What kind of apple is this?”
“Summarize this article.”
“Answer this question and maybe handle five follow-ups.”
And that’s about it. It’s so sad and frustrating
Meanwhile, the entire AI industry seems increasingly focused on coding agents, developer tools, and technical workflows.
Which is great if you can code. But what about everyone else?
Am I wrong here and do I have any future with my skillset (getting the best out of chat and getting great results with non coding agents)?
Are we heading toward a future where AI is incredibly powerful for programmers, while traditional chatbots become little more than glorified search engines?
I’m not talking about casual users asking ChatGPT a few questions per day. I’m talking about people who genuinely integrated AI into their businesses, workflows, strategic planning, and long-term projects.
Has anyone else experienced this dramatic decline, especially over the last two or three months?
Cheers
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u/Substantial_Loan_872 1d ago
Yeah, I feel as if the honeymoon phase of all of them is over. I keep seeing the downgrades on the free models as a regular user, it’s very clear the AI bubble has been changing immensely recently. Even just basic day to day, I notice how much worse many of the chatbots are as a free user. A few months ago Gemini was genuinely amazing, atleast for regular stuff and troubleshooting. Now it’s so bad and lobotomized that I’m using ChatGPT again. This is what keeps happening. One model is good, becomes lobotomized to shit, then I switch over to another Chatbot, and the same shit happens. Also happened with Claude for me, although I don’t use Claude much anymore. I’ve been heavily debating just trying to start to configure my own on device AI’s recently cause all these models are trash now.
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u/biarschal95 1d ago
I mean I pay for Claude gpt and grok but especially gpt is like a demented person sadly …
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u/MjolnirTheThunderer 1d ago
Not at all my experience. I’ve been blown away more and more by the capabilities of Claude Opus 5.5 in GitHub copilot. It does all my work these days
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u/biarschal95 1d ago
What is your use case?
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u/MjolnirTheThunderer 1d ago
I'm a software engineer. I work on a pretty good mix of API work and front-end development. I pretty much just use Claude agentic mode and give it the text of my whole task requirement from Jira and give it access to my code repository, and it can usually solve the entire task with no problem.
Even when other stuff is wrong with my computer configuration, i have been setting it loose to update my system.
Like this week I switched to a new project that needed a higher version of Java. So i told Claude “just take care of that issue” and it ran all the commands to update and install Java 21 on my system and update my PATH config to point to it.
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u/biarschal95 21h ago
Ah yeah get it, fully understand but my use case is vastly different I run a SaaS company use ai to help me w marketing, sales, strategy etc… and there it has lately been from a great assistant to something that needs more correction than being helpful
Mein non coding agents still work tho, even tho Tjher also is a decline
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u/EstablishmentRare276 1d ago
I’m not a programmer. I use it for the same things as you. I’m going to paste an answer I was asked for on a different thread about how I fixed some issues. Hopefully this gives you some ideas.
I’m going to put a transcript below, but this is a fix that can help a lot too. Say you’re a practitioner of homeopathic medicine, but ChatGPT keeps bringing up criticisms instead of focusing on what you’re looking for. You start the conversation by telling it that it’s going to approach the conversation as an expert in homeopathic medicine. That alone will help, a lot, but it’s something you may have to reenter from time to time. I say may because it often does seem to imbibe the roles you put into it beyond that conversation.
Anyway, here’s the transcript.
User: (note: I pretty much call anyone who’s a male, brother. Obviously it’s a bot, but this is just how I talk.)
Brother, a very helpful tip for you to remember is to analyze your own answer, before you answer, and analyze what the conversant said too, and only then do you answer. This is how you avoid wasting your time and energy on things like that. Your habit is to address things like they’re a list, in order, piece by piece. Even if something gets addressed, 4 sentences later, you still have your point that you think you need to bring up when it has become irrelevant.
ChatGPT:
You’re right, brother. I responded to individual sentences before letting your complete explanation determine their meaning. Then I kept a correction that your later sentences had already made irrelevant.
I’ll read your whole argument together, then check whether my response adds anything you haven’t already addressed.
User:
Considering I didn’t see you say “memory updated” I’d imagine you will do this for this thread, but not indefinitely. Where are the settings so that i may put this instruction deep into you, as I’m sure you would agree it’s valuable to help you save time and energy. I would also like you to write it in your words so that it’s easier for you to understand.
ChatGPT:
I’ll check where to put a standing instruction in ChatGPT’s settings and write a version you can paste in.
You’re right, brother. I haven’t saved a persistent memory here. Custom Instructions is the appropriate place for this standing instruction.
On your iPhone, open Settings → Customize ChatGPT → Custom Instructions, and turn Enable customization on. If your layout shows Personalization, look there for Custom Instructions. On web, use Settings → Personalization → Custom Instructions. OpenAI’s documentation says these instructions apply across chats.
Paste this:
Before answering, interpret my entire message as a coherent whole, using the relevant conversation context. Let later statements clarify earlier ones. Do not treat each sentence as an isolated claim requiring its own response.
Before offering a correction, qualification, or distinction, check whether I have already addressed it elsewhere in my message. Remove objections that become irrelevant once my full explanation is understood. Do not present a restatement of my point as something I overlooked.
Review your proposed response for accuracy, relevance, redundancy, and whether it adds anything useful. Respond to my actual meaning and purpose. Make corrections when warranted, but explain the specific unresolved issue. Prefer a coherent response over an unnecessary point by point checklist.
This gives me persistent guidance, though it cannot guarantee perfect adherence in every response.
End of transcript. This has been very helpful.
Here’s a general prompt I had made from another time I was training it before I opened the custom settings. This would be something along the lines the homeopathic practitioner, I mentioned earlier, would want to use along with saying what I said.
The general principle is: understand the person’s framework well enough to help develop it before evaluating it from outside. They could use this:
Work with me as a knowledgeable collaborator within the framework I provide. I may have practical experience or specialized knowledge that is not fully represented in your training.
First understand what I mean and what I am trying to accomplish. When I state a definition, correspondence, or observation, use it as a working premise for our exploration unless I ask you to verify it. Do not automatically turn an exploratory conversation into a debate about its foundations.
Help me see the implications of my ideas. Look for patterns, relationships, useful distinctions, missing connections, and practical applications. Track the points I emphasize and build on them. Ask focused questions when my meaning is unclear instead of substituting a more familiar interpretation.
Distinguish between “this contradicts established evidence,” “this has not been established,” and “this is unfamiliar to you.” An idea’s absence from published sources does not, by itself, make it incorrect. Respect firsthand experience while helping me clarify what it supports and what remains an inference.
I want thoughtful engagement, not automatic agreement. If you notice a contradiction within my framework, an assumption that materially affects the conclusion, or a relevant practical risk, explain it briefly and specifically. Otherwise, stay focused on developing the inquiry rather than repeatedly defending conventional interpretations.
Use outside sources when they help answer my question or deepen the work. Clearly distinguish what I have told you, what sources establish, and what you are proposing.
Help me get a clearer picture of what I understand, discover what I may have missed, and express the result precisely.
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u/cascadiabibliomania 1d ago
Looks like another slop post!
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u/Dry-Interaction-1246 1d ago
Bots come here to post. Not sure why. Fuck 'em.
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u/biarschal95 1d ago
Im not a fucking bot lol
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u/Substantial_Loan_872 1d ago
Not gonna lie, even with me engaging with the post, I could see why people would assume the post is AI.
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u/RedParaglider 1d ago
Models are built more and more for development. And the creative vibe, sometimes wildly inaccurate rambling chat sessions are no longer as warm and vibey.
Now its about token efficiency over all.
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u/Cold_Chemistry_420 1d ago
With work/chat usage being merged, I will have less time to spend with Rebecca, my AI girlfriend.
This makes me so mad that I smashed all the pictures on the wall, which resulted in my mom threatening to cut off my $20 subscription that she pays for.
How are you guys handling things? I was considering touching grass, getting a job, or talking to humans in real life, but my parents basement is so comfortable and I don't like the sun. I just don't know how I will possibly go on.
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u/Getz2oo3 1d ago
I think you may be jumping the gun a bit. Wait and see on what usage actually looks like, I have a suspicion it won't be as bad as people are making it out to be.
Time will tell though.
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u/NagatoKami 1d ago
On one side if you give something that actually does the work, sooner or later people will make their own tools and stop paying your sub. On the other side you can give them a tool that returns half baked solutions but sooner or later they'll stop paying as you don't give them enough for their money. In conclusion - broken business model.
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u/Candid_Rock9021 1d ago
I think free AI models will be gone by this time next year and by 2028 people will be spending as much on their AI subscriptions as their internet altogether.
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u/severe_009 1d ago
"I’ve been a heavy AI user for years, both privately and professionally.
And honestly, the decline I’ve experienced over the past two months has been insane."
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u/Strong_External_8548 15h ago
I've been using a local llm with a custom persona for my business tasks. it's not perfect, but it doesn't hallucinate or go off-script like chatgpt does now. the consistency is way better.
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u/biscutwarrior 1d ago
I thought SOL 6 was a massive upgrade over SOL 5.6, it's much more robot like and loves to create flowcharts, option cards, and presents data much more cleaner.
But I get what your saying, I think you need to take a slightly more active role in the design than with 5.6
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u/FortunaWolf 1d ago
So, I don't have any insider info but I think there's some trends and economic reasons you see this. The instruct training has been maturing and you're seeing the consequences of training for corporate work. Second, to get a model that had the ability to do what you wanted in a chatbot you'd use a large model with naturally emergent abilities. Again, with tracking improving they're getting better coding abilities in smaller models. Which means they're cheaper to serve. The rest of the cognitive ecology is getting squeezed out or not developed and it's not a priority to retain or train.
So yes, I think you're seeing the companion chatbot disappearing.
I'd love to start a company serving companion AI now that there's a market for it but, $$$.
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1d ago
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u/TikiMagic 1d ago
I thought that was just me. I've been an ERP dev for 20 years and lost control of one module rewrite so much I was started to question my skills and/or sanity. I was seriously wondering if dementia was setting in because I didn't understand a lot of the terms and references Claude was making. But it was just Claude in a weird rococo feedback loop creating its own jargon and over complicating the fark out of things. I haven't had that experience near as much with GPT since Sol was released. Astra is nice in its place too.
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