There are numerous positive justifications for using ChatGPT. I’ve written thoroughly about the AI robot, including how to make good causes, why you should be using&nbsp, ChatGPT’s words mode more often and how I nearly won my NCAA bracket&nbsp, owing to ChatGPT.

I’m a fan, but I even understand its limits. Whether you’re on a roll with it or simply getting ready to take the plunge, you should also. It’s fun for trying out new dishes, learning a foreign language or planning a vacation, and it’s getting high marks for publishing program code. You do, however, not want to provide ChatGPT carte blanche in everything you do. It isn’t very nice at all. In truth, it can be quite dubious at a lot of things. &nbsp,

It occasionally hallucinates information that is mistaken for fact, may not always have accurate information, and is extremely comfortable, even when it is completely incorrect. ( The same can be said about other generative AI tools, too, of course. )

The higher the margins are, such as when  taxes, medical expenses, court deadlines, or bank amounts enter the discussion.

Below are 11 cases where you should seriously consider downputting the Iot and choosing another option if you’re unsure about when using ChatGPT might be dangerous. Don’t apply ChatGPT for any of the following.

( Disclosure: CNET’s parent company, Ziff Davis, sued ChatGPT maker OpenAI in April, alleging that it violated Ziff Davis ‘ copyrights when it trained and ran its AI systems. ) &nbsp,

1. diagnosing your ailments, such as aches and pains

I’ve undoubtedly given ChatGPT my signs out of interest, but the responses that follow may learn like your worst nightmare. As you pore through possible diagnoses, you could bounce from thirst and the virus to malignancy. I entered a tumor on my neck into ChatGPT because I had one. It informed me that I may include cancer, lo and behold. Awesome! In truth, I have a lesion that is non-cancerous and occurs in one in every 1,000 individuals. which my qualified physician informed me.

I’m not saying there are no great uses of ChatGPT for wellness: It can help you review questions for your next appointment, convert medical jargon and arrange a sign timeline but you walk in better organized. That might reduce the number of physician visits.

But, AI is unable to get labs or perform an exam on you, and it is undoubtedly not covered by malpractice insurance. Know its boundaries.

2. Taking care of your emotional wellbeing

ChatGPT can provide wiring techniques, positive, but it didn’t pick up the phone when you’re in real problems with your intellectual health. I am aware of some people who use ChatGPT as a substitute therapy; CNET’s Corin Cesaric found it to be somewhat good for dealing with pain as long as she kept its limitations in thinking. However, as someone who has a very true, very human counselor, I can assure you that ChatGPT is still largely a pale imitation and very dangerous at best.

It doesn’t have lived knowledge, didn’t learn your brain language or tone and has zero capacity for true empathy– it can only create it. A qualified therapist adheres to legal guidelines and professional standards to safeguard your rights. ChatGPT is not. Its advice is failure, ignore red flags or unwittingly strengthen biases baked into its coaching data. Leave the more difficult, noisy work to a qualified, knowledgeable individual who has the necessary training to handle it.

Choose ring 988 in the US or your neighborhood line if you or someone you love is in a crisis.

3. making decisions about health right away

Please don’t start ChatGPT and beg it if you’re in real risk if your carbon monoxide alarm starts chiming. I’d come outside second and ask questions later. Big language models can’t detect smoke, taste gas, or summon an emergency team, and every second you spend typing is a second you’re no evacuating or dialing 911 in a quick-changing emergency. ChatGPT can only function with the information you provide, and it might be too little or too late in an emergency. So treat your chatbot as a postincident explainer, never a first responder.

4. obtaining personalized financial or tax advice

ChatGPT can explain what an ETF is, but it doesn’t know your debt-to-income ratio, state tax bracket, filing status, deductions, long-term goals or appetite for risk. When you enter its training data, it might not be accurate for the current tax year or the most recent rate increases.

Friends of mine deposit their 1099 totals into ChatGPT for a DIY return. The chatbot can’t replace a CPA who’ll catch a hidden deduction worth a few hundred dollars or flag a mistake that could cost you thousands. Call a professional, not AI, when real money, filing deadlines, and IRS penalties are in question.

Also, be aware that any information you give an AI chatbot will likely end up in its training data, including your income, Social Security number, and bank routing information.

5. dealing with regulated or confidential data

As a tech journalist, I get embargoes every day in my inbox, but I’ve never thought about dumping any of these press releases into ChatGPT to get a summary or explanation. That’s because if I did, that text would leave my control and land on a third-party server outside the guardrails of my nondiscloure agreement.

The same danger exists for client contracts, medical charts, or anything else that is covered by the GDPR, HIPAA, the California Consumer Privacy Act, or plain old trade-secret law. Additionally, your birth certificate, driver’s license, and passport are subject to it. Once sensitive information is in the prompt window, you can’t guarantee where it’s stored, who can review it internally or whether it might be used to train future models. Additionally, ChatGPT is not immune to security threats and hackers. Don’t paste it into ChatGPT if you wouldn’t want to copy it into a public Slack channel.

6. committing any illegal behavior

This is completely self-explanatory.

7. cheating on assignments

If I said I’ve never cheated on my exams, I’d be lying. In high school, I used my first-generation iPod Touch to sneak a peek at a few cumbersome equations I had difficulty memorizing in AP calculus, a stunt I’m not particularly proud of. However, with AI, the scale of contemporary cheating makes that appear remarkably tame. &nbsp,

Turnitin and similar detectors are getting better at spotting AI-generated prose every semester, and professors can already hear” ChatGPT voice” a mile away ( thanks for ruining my beloved em dash ). Real risks include suspension, expulsion, and losing your license. Use ChatGPT as a study companion, not as a ghostwriter. You’re also just cheating yourself out of an education if you have ChatGPT do the work for you.

8. monitoring current news and information

Since OpenAI rolled out ChatGPT Search in late 2024 ( and opened it to everyone in February 2025 ), the chatbot can fetch fresh web pages, stock quotes, gas prices, sports scores and other real-time numbers the moment you ask, complete with clickable citations so you can verify the source. &nbsp,

However, it won’t automatically stream updates. Every refresh needs a new prompt, so when speed is critical, live data feeds, official press releases, news sites, push alerts and streaming coverage are still your best bet.

9. Gambling

I’ve actually had luck with ChatGPT and hitting a three-way parlay during the NCAA men’s basketball championship, but I’d never recommend it to anyone. I’ve seen ChatGPT hallucinate and provide inaccurate data regarding player statistics, misreported injuries, and win-loss statistics. I only cashed out because I double-checked every claim before making a wager in real-time, which was even more fortunate. &nbsp,

Don’t rely on it to only get you that win because ChatGPT can’t see tomorrow’s box score.

10. Drafting a will or other legally binding contract

ChatGPT is great for breaking down basic concepts, as I’ve mentioned before a few times. Ask away if you want to learn more about a revocable living trust, but the moment you ask it to draft the actual legal text, you’re rolling the dice.

Estate and family-law rules vary by state, and sometimes even by county, so skipping a required witness signature or omitting the notarization clause can get your whole document tossed. Let ChatGPT create a checklist of questions for your attorney, and pay that attorney to turn it into a legal document.

11. Making art

I don’t think AI should be used to create art, but this isn’t an objective truth; it’s just my opinion. I’m not in any way opposed to artistic intelligence. I use ChatGPT for brainstorming new ideas and help with my headlines, but that’s supplementation, not substitution. Use ChatGPT by all means, but please don’t use it to create works of art that you later pass off as your own. It’s a little gross.