ChatGPT struggles to report the time in chat, yet can embed the date easily
ChatGPT can spin a paragraph about Shakespeare, explain quantum mechanics, or draft a marketing email in seconds, yet it stumbles when asked for the exact minute. Users have reported that the model repeatedly offers generic time‑of‑day answers or refuses outright, even though the same underlying system can pull the current calendar date with ease. A recent glimpse at a leaked system prompt suggests the date is baked into the conversation starter, giving the model a reliable reference point from the get‑go.
The discrepancy raises a simple but nagging question: why does a tool that can embed today’s date struggle to announce that it’s 5:45 PM right now? The answer, according to engineers, hinges on how the model’s prompt architecture treats dynamic versus static information. While the date can sit in a static prompt, the ticking clock requires a live feed that the current setup doesn’t provide.
This tension between what’s easy to hard‑code and what needs real‑time data sits at the heart of the issue.
"If we're having a conversation, and then somebody, every so often, was popping in and saying, 'It's 5:45.' 'It's 5:46 now.'" By contrast, something like the date is relatively easy to include in a system prompt at the start of a chat -- which one apparent ChatGPT system prompt leak seems to show. C
"If we're having a conversation, and then somebody, every so often, was popping in and saying, 'It's 5:45.' 'It's 5:46 now.'" By contrast, something like the date is relatively easy to include in a system prompt at the start of a chat -- which one apparent ChatGPT system prompt leak seems to show. ChatGPT users can tell the time without too much fuss by asking the chatbot specifically to search for it. (Some other chatbots, like Google Gemini, will automatically search for the time.) You can also use an open-source model context protocol to connect an AI application to your data.
That said, sending AI models to search the web or letting them access personal data comes with risks, like the bot being injected with malicious prompts that are scattered across the internet, Minervini said. Minervini, who finds blind spots in consumer AI technology as part of his research, says there's actually a whole list of time-related tasks it hasn't mastered.
Can a chatbot really serve as a personal assistant when it can't report the current hour? The article shows that asking ChatGPT for the time yields inconsistent answers, often a refusal or a vague statement. It can't tell time.
By contrast, the date appears readily in responses, apparently because it can be inserted into the system prompt at chat start, as a recent prompt leak suggests. This discrepancy raises questions about the underlying design choices. If a user needs a reliable clock, the model's limitation is evident; if the date suffices for scheduling, the workaround may be acceptable.
Yet the reason why time‑keeping is excluded while date insertion is allowed remains unclear. No clock available. The piece does not provide evidence of a technical barrier versus a policy decision.
Consequently, the utility of ChatGPT as a hyper‑competent assistant is tempered by this specific shortfall, and whether future updates will address it is still uncertain.
Further Reading
- Papers with Code - Latest NLP Research - Papers with Code
- Hugging Face Daily Papers - Hugging Face
- ArXiv CS.CL (Computation and Language) - ArXiv
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Common Questions Answered
Why does ChatGPT struggle to report the current time but can embed the date easily?
According to the article, the current date is baked into the system prompt at the start of a chat, giving the model a reliable reference point. In contrast, the exact minute is not included in the prompt, so ChatGPT often gives generic time‑of‑day answers or refuses to answer.
How does the leaked system prompt affect ChatGPT's ability to provide the date?
The leaked system prompt shows that the date is inserted directly into the conversation starter, allowing the model to reference it consistently in its responses. This design choice makes the date readily available, unlike the time, which must be fetched separately.
Can users obtain the current time from ChatGPT by any workaround?
Yes, the article notes that users can ask ChatGPT to specifically search for the time, which prompts the model to perform an external lookup. However, this is not the default behavior and requires an explicit request from the user.
How does Google Gemini's handling of time differ from ChatGPT's approach?
Google Gemini automatically searches for the current time when asked, providing a more seamless personal‑assistant experience. ChatGPT, on the other hand, often refuses or gives vague answers unless the user explicitly requests a search.