# What Is ChatGPT Pulse? How It Worked, Who Had It, and What Replaced It

> Pulse did research for ChatGPT Pro subscribers overnight and showed it as a few cards each morning. OpenAI retired it in June 2026 and moved daily briefings into scheduled tasks. From OpenAI's own pages: how it worked, who had it, what it cost and how to get the same brief now.

By Pat Simmons · November 9, 2026 · 8 min read

Canonical: https://www.aiformortals.co/blog/what-is-chatgpt-pulse

ChatGPT Pulse was a ChatGPT feature that did research for you overnight and showed the results the next morning as a short set of visual cards, built from your past chats, ChatGPT's memory, your feedback and, if you connected them, Gmail and Google Calendar. OpenAI launched it as a preview for Pro subscribers on September 25, 2025, and retired it on June 17, 2026, when daily updates moved into ChatGPT's scheduled tasks.

Last checked November 9, 2026: OpenAI's release notes, its scheduled tasks help page and the ChatGPT pricing page. OpenAI's old Pulse help article now returns "page not found".

## What is ChatGPT Pulse used for?

Pulse was used for a personal morning briefing you didn't have to ask for. OpenAI's examples were follow-ups on topics you discuss often, ideas for a quick, healthy dinner that evening, and next steps toward a longer goal such as training for a triathlon.

With Google Calendar connected, OpenAI said ChatGPT might draft a sample meeting agenda, remind you to buy a birthday gift or find restaurants for an upcoming trip. In a demo for TechCrunch, OpenAI product lead Adam Fry showed a roundup of news about Arsenal, group Halloween costume ideas for his family and a toddler-friendly itinerary for a trip to Sedona, Arizona.

_Four Pulse cards from OpenAI's launch examples, each with a picture, a headline, a short summary and thumbs up, thumbs down, save and share buttons. Image: OpenAI, via TechCrunch._

## How does ChatGPT Pulse work?

Pulse ran once a day. Each night ChatGPT pulled together your memory, chat history and direct feedback, researched what looked most relevant, and delivered the results the next day as cards you could scan quickly or open for more detail.

TechCrunch counted five to 10 reports a day. Each card paired an AI-made image with a short summary, tapping it opened the full report, and you could ask ChatGPT follow-up questions about what you read. Pulse linked its sources the same way ChatGPT search does.

The feed stopped on purpose. After a handful of cards Pulse showed a message like "Great, that's it for today," which Fry told TechCrunch was a deliberate choice to set it apart from social apps built to keep you scrolling.

_The end of a day's Pulse, with the "Curate for tomorrow" button for asking what to cover next. Image: OpenAI._

Each update lasted one day. OpenAI says an update stayed available that day only, unless you saved it as a chat or asked a follow-up question, which added it to your chat history.

You steered Pulse two ways: a thumbs up or down on any card, or the Curate button, where you could ask for something specific, such as "focus on professional tennis updates tomorrow." OpenAI's release notes said a request made in the evening would aim to show up the next morning, though the exact timing could vary. From December 17, 2025, Pulse was also where you saw and edited your scheduled tasks.

## Is ChatGPT Pulse still available?

No. OpenAI's June 17, 2026 release note says "Pulse is being sunset as proactive updates move into scheduled tasks," and that Pro users would keep access for 14 days from that date. The same note says that to keep getting a daily update, you can ask ChatGPT to schedule a daily briefing based on your interests and past chats.

Pulse started in the iOS and Android apps. On October 29, 2025, OpenAI made it available on the web and began rolling it out to its Atlas browser for Pro users. For what has changed in ChatGPT since, see ChatGPT's latest updates and features.

## Is ChatGPT Pulse available for Plus users?

No. OpenAI's release notes never announced Pulse for Plus. At launch OpenAI said it would learn from early use "before rolling it out to Plus," with the goal of making it available to everyone, and TechCrunch reported that OpenAI first needed to make Pulse more efficient, since it was one of the compute-heavy products kept to the most expensive plan.

The last release note that names Pulse's plan, from December 17, 2025, says "Pulse is only available in ChatGPT Pro," and the June 2026 shutdown note mentions only Pro users. Plus does get the feature that replaced it: the ChatGPT pricing page lists "Projects, scheduled tasks, and custom GPTs" in the $20-a-month Plus plan.

## How much does ChatGPT Pulse cost?

Pulse never had a price of its own. It came with ChatGPT Pro, which cost $200 a month when Pulse launched, and no plan offers it now. The daily briefing that replaced it comes with the plan you already pay for, and OpenAI's scheduled tasks help page says each run uses your plan's usage allowance even when it has nothing new to post.

Prices below come from the ChatGPT pricing page, checked November 9, 2026, and the task limits from OpenAI's scheduled tasks help page. For a plan-by-plan breakdown, see what every ChatGPT plan costs.

PlanPrice per monthHad Pulse?Scheduled tasks today (active at once)

Free$0NoUp to 3 on the help page, at most once a day; the pricing page shows "No"
Go$8NoUp to 3
Plus$20No (promised at launch, never announced)Up to 5
ProFrom $100 (three usage tiers)Yes, September 2025 to its June 2026 shutdownUp to 15

On work plans, the help page allows 10 active tasks on Business and Edu and 15 on Enterprise.

## How to turn on and use ChatGPT Pulse

You can't turn Pulse on anymore, because OpenAI retired it in June 2026. While it ran, Pro subscribers saw it as its own tab in the ChatGPT app, it needed saved memory and chat history switched on, and you could switch it off at any time in settings.

To get a daily brief now, set up a scheduled task. These steps come from OpenAI's scheduled tasks help page:

- Open Scheduled in the ChatGPT sidebar.

- Pick the Daily brief suggestion, or type what you want and when, such as "Every morning at 7, brief me on the topics I ask you about most."

- Check the confirmation ChatGPT shows, then go to Settings > Notifications and pick Push, Email or both.

- To pause, edit or delete the brief later, open it on the Scheduled page.

_ChatGPT's Scheduled page, with a ready-made "Daily brief" task at the top of its suggestions. Image: OpenAI's scheduled tasks help page._

Paid plans can repeat a task as often as once an hour at an exact time. Free tasks run at most once a day, in a broad window such as morning, afternoon or night. Scheduled tasks don't work in voice chats, GPTs or locked chats.

## What Pulse can see: memory, chats, Gmail and Calendar

Pulse read your ChatGPT memory, your chat history and the feedback you gave it, and it only worked with saved memory and chat history turned on. Gmail and Google Calendar were optional: OpenAI said those connections were off by default and could be turned on or off in settings. With email connected, TechCrunch reported, Pulse went through your inbox overnight to surface the most important messages.

OpenAI also said every topic shown in Pulse passed safety checks to filter out harmful content that broke its policies. For what ChatGPT keeps from your chats and how to stop it training on them, see what ChatGPT keeps and how to switch off training.

The scheduled tasks that replaced Pulse can check connected apps too. On Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise and Edu, a task in ChatGPT Work can react to new Gmail messages, Slack messages or GitHub pull requests; Free and Go accounts can't create those. If you share a task with someone, OpenAI says the link carries the task's title, instructions and schedule, and leaves out your memories, chat history and connected app data. ChatGPT can also work with Apple's mail: we cover connecting your iCloud Mail to ChatGPT separately.

## Will ChatGPT Pulse show ads?

No. Pulse is retired, and OpenAI's Pulse launch post and release notes say nothing about ads. Pulse was also only ever on Pro, and OpenAI's ads help page says Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise and Edu accounts don't get ads.

ChatGPT itself does show ads on some plans. OpenAI started testing them in the US on February 9, 2026, for Free and Go users, as one labeled ad unit below a response. OpenAI says ads don't change ChatGPT's answers and that advertisers never see your chats.

## ChatGPT Pulse alternatives

The closest replacement is OpenAI's own scheduled tasks, which OpenAI named as Pulse's successor, and Google's Gemini has a similar feature called Schedules. Both deliver a briefing you set up once, at a time you pick. For other assistants and their prices, see ChatGPT alternatives and what they cost.

ChatGPT scheduled tasks

Tasks can run once, repeat, or watch for changes and only notify you when there's something to report. The pricing page includes them in Go, Plus and Pro, with 3 to 15 active tasks depending on the plan.

They fit best if you already pay for ChatGPT and want the same morning brief Pulse gave you.

Gemini Schedules

Google's help page says you can schedule Gemini to send a daily digest of your calendar, to-do list and emails, or to track a topic every day. Gemini prepares each answer within the hour before your delivery time, so fast-moving numbers like stock prices may be out of date when it arrives.

You can have up to 10 active schedules, and the feature only works with Gemini's Keep Activity setting turned on. It fits best if your mail and calendar already live in Google.

## Questions people ask about ChatGPT Pulse

Is ChatGPT Pulse free?

No. Pulse was only on the Pro plan, $200 a month at launch, and it has since been retired. Scheduled tasks, which replaced it, come with the $8 Go plan and up, and OpenAI's help page also gives Free accounts three.

Could Pulse take actions for you, like booking a table?

No. Pulse researched and reported. OpenAI wrote that over time it envisions AI that can "research, plan, and take helpful actions for you," and TechCrunch reported that OpenAI eventually wanted Pulse to make restaurant reservations or draft emails for you to approve. OpenAI's release notes never announced either before Pulse was retired.

Did Pulse always get it right?

No. OpenAI called Pulse a preview that "won't always get things right," and gave the example of tips for a project you had already finished. Its advice was to tell ChatGPT directly, since Pulse remembered your feedback for the next day.

Who was Pulse for?

Pulse was for Pro subscribers, and it worked from what ChatGPT already knew about them through memory and past chats. OpenAI tested it with college students in its ChatGPT Lab and said many found it useful once they started telling ChatGPT what they wanted to see.

How much computing did Pulse use?

It varied. Fry told TechCrunch the computing power behind a report could "vary tremendously," from fairly efficient to jobs that meant searching the web and pulling together many documents.

## Sources

- OpenAI: Introducing ChatGPT Pulse

- OpenAI Help Center: ChatGPT release notes

- OpenAI Help Center: Scheduled tasks in ChatGPT

- ChatGPT pricing

- OpenAI Help Center: Ads in ChatGPT

- Google: Schedules in Gemini Apps

- TechCrunch: OpenAI launches ChatGPT Pulse to proactively write you morning briefs