A key potential pitfall to avoid when using ChatGPT is over-relying on its outputs without proper verification, as the model can produce inaccurate, biased, or fabricated information. ChatGPT may confidently generate plausible- sounding but incorrect or misleading answers, especially in specialized fields like law or medicine, where it might invent nonexistent facts rather than admit uncertainty

. Other important pitfalls include:

• Bias and offensive content: ChatGPT is trained on large datasets that may contain biases, which can lead to biased or discriminatory responses

• Lack of true understanding: The model does not genuinely understand meaning or context, making it prone to misinterpret sarcasm, humor, or subtle cues, resulting in overly literal or irrelevant replies

• Ambiguous or unclear prompts: Using vague or subjective instructions can cause ChatGPT to produce unsatisfactory answers. Clear, specific prompts with context improve results

• Difficulty with complex or long-form tasks: ChatGPT struggles with generating long, structured content and handling multiple tasks simultaneously

• Plagiarism risk: The model may generate text similar to existing sources, raising concerns about originality and proper citation

• Computational costs: Running ChatGPT requires significant computing resources, which may limit accessibility or performance

To mitigate these pitfalls, users should always fact-check outputs, provide clear and detailed prompts, be aware of biases, and avoid using ChatGPT for critical decisions without human oversight