How to Instantly Add "Date Stamps" In ChatGPT Conversations

Note: This solution requires ChatGPT 4.

The Missing Piece

ChatGPT lacks the ability to provide real-time date and time stamps within conversations. We depend on date stamps for almost everything we do on our devices, from photos, emails, text messages, to documents, etc. The absence of such a basic and useful feature is baffling. Date stamps would provide a clear and chronological context to any discussion.

In a Hurry?

See the ChatGPT Builder App datestamp in action:

Sample Shared Chat Session

datestamp Example as Displayed in Chat.

Here is what datestamp does.

USER:
What is capital of Canada?

ChatGPT RESPONSE:
*Talked to timeapi.io*
📅 2024-02-11 | The capital of Canada is Ottawa.

Three Basic Shortcomings of ChatGPT

1. Inside a conversation, unless you type it in manually, you are not aware of the date of the first response or the dates of subsequent responses. You don't know the creation_date or the revision_date of responses.
2. Perhaps the most confusing behavior of ChatGPT is when you click on a conversation that is, say, two weeks old, it is moved to the top of the list under Today. You have no way of knowing whether it is a new conversation or a two-week-old conversation.
3. You are unable to create a Table of Contents for a chat session with dates of each response. For long chat sessions, this would be helpful, especially if the first sentence of each response was prefixed by the date of that response.

Fortunately, I've written a ChatGPT Builder app called datestamp that solves these three shortcomings.

The Instant Solution: datestamp

This can be done on desktop or mobile versions of ChatGPT 4.

Steps

1. Head on over to the ChatGPT Store: https://chat.openai.com/gpts - or you can click on Explore GPTs from the sidebar.
2. Search for datestamp and select it from the list. Now you can chat as you normally do but with the datestamp features. Be sure to Allow the timestamp API timeapi.io when asked by ChatGPT.
3. Now, type in a question, and you will see ChatGPT's response has been date stamped.

That's all there is to it! Type /help to learn more or /toc for a Table of Contents containg the date stamp and the first sentence or two from the response.

Hopefully you will do this in an instant - or my title was click bait.

Using ChatGPT's New @mentions Feature

Once you have used datestamp once, you should be able to type in @datestamp in any chat session on the desktop version.

Warning: At the time of this article, using datestamp as a @mention had some technical issues with ChatGPT. Perhaps they are still working on @mentions - it is a brand-new feature, after all.

datestamp Tips and Tricks

1. On the iPhone ChatGPT App, you’re able to search all conversations. Try searching for a date like 2024-02-10, and any sessions that have been automatically date stamped will be listed under search.
2. In a very long conversation, you can create a Table of Contents with the first sentence of every response. Then, using Ctrl-F, you can search the chat response you are looking for.
3. Using natural language, you can easily change the behavior and format of the date stamp and even ask for the time to be stamped after the date. Example: Add the current time to all time stamps and use Eastern Time zone.
4. The creation_date of a conversation is the date of the first response. Consider copying the creation_date and adding it to the beginning of the name of the chat in the sidebar when you are renaming chat sessions.

Creating Your Own Date-Aware App with ChatGPT Builder

It is easy to build and customize your own ChatGPT Builder date_stamp app. All the source code is available on GitHub and is MIT licensed, allowing for easy access and modification.

Here's how:

1. Using the simple language AImarkdown, you can rapidly develop your own app.
2. All source code and complete API information are available under the MIT license.
3. Check out the datestamp example from the documentation: https://aimarkdown.org/chatgpt-builder

Be aware that AImarkdown Language is in the early stages of development. Maybe someday, ChatGPT will natively support a simple structured language like AImarkdown for building apps and customizing ChatGPT.

Don’t Be Fooled by ChatGPT Claiming Date Awareness

It is true that you can ask ChatGPT for the current date, and it will often report the current date, but this is not reliable at all. If you visit the same chat session the next day and ask for the current date, don’t be surprised if ChatGPT gives yesterday's date. I've tried solutions like using Python or JavaScript, but to no avail. Even trying to fool ChatGPT will not work dependably. Oddly, ChatGPT seems unaware that it fails to handle this basic functionality. Currently, the only dependable way of getting current dates and times is to use an API inside of a ChatGPT Builder Action - and that is exactly what datestamp does. Chat Builder Actions are at the very bottom of Configuration tab. Actions allow for calling APIs.

ChatGPT 4 Response to Shortcomings

Rather than clutter this article with ChatGPT's full response to lack of date awareness, I'm providing a shared chat session. I don't fully understand it, but it is worth a read if you want to dig deeper into this issue.

I will however, included a couple of main points that ChatGPT makes:

ChatGPT Partial Response:

• Acknowledging the Gap: It's clear that, despite the many strengths of ChatGPT, including its ability to generate human-like text and engage in a wide range of topics, there are areas like date stamping where the user experience could be improved. Your feedback highlights an important aspect of interaction that could make the tool even more valuable and user-friendly.
• Potential for Future Enhancements: While the current version of ChatGPT lacks real-time awareness and the ability to dynamically include date stamps in responses, your suggestion points towards a potential area for future development. Enhancements could include features that allow the model to recognize and mark the date and time of each interaction within a session, even if it's based on the system's clock rather than real-time internet-based clocks.

Complete Chat session at: Shared chat defending shortcoming

Are Copilot and Gemini Advanced Any Better?

The competitors seem to fair no better when it comes to date awareness.

Microsoft Bing Copilot Reports: Today's date is always the same as the creation_date of the first response in a session. Similar issues to ChatGPT.

Google’s Gemini Advanced Reports: Gemini responded with: Unfortunately, I can't pinpoint the exact date of my first response in this session.

Conclusion

The datestamp App not only fills a gap left by ChatGPT but also sets a new standard for AI-driven communication tools. By incorporating features like date stamping and a Table of Contents, it elevates the user experience, making it more intuitive and valuable for a wide range of users. Wouldn't it be nice if ChatGPT could show the creation_date and revision_dated as information where the name of the chat session is on the sidebar? Unfortunately, this is impossible with ChatGPT Builder.

Give datestamp a try and enhance your ChatGPT experience. I look forward to hearing about your experiences and any feedback you might have.