Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning have changed the nature of scientific inquiry in recent years. Of these, the development of virtual assistants has accelerated greatly in the past few years, with ChatGPT becoming a prominent AI language model. In this study, we examine the foundations, vision, research challenges of ChatGPT. This article investigates into the background and development of the technology behind it, as well as its popular applications. Moreover, we discuss the advantages of bringing everything together through ChatGPT and Internet of Things (IoT). Further, we speculate on the future of ChatGPT by considering various possibilities for study and development, such as energy-efficiency, cybersecurity, enhancing its applicability to additional technologies (Robotics and Computer Vision), strengthening human-AI communications, and bridging the technological gap. Finally, we discuss the important ethics and current trends of ChatGPT. Display omitted •Present the roadmap and outlook of ChatGPT.•Investigate the capabilities of ChatGPT for strengthening human-AI communications.•Discuss the notable functions of ChatGPT, its popular applications and ethics.•Examine the advantages of bringing everything together through ChatGPT and IoT.•Highlight the current trends & research challenges of ChatGPT.