ChatGPT Projects: How to Set One Up for Your Business

If you use ChatGPT for work, you'll know the feeling: a great conversation on Tuesday, and by Friday you can't find it, and you've forgotten what you told it about your business. Every new chat starts from a blank page, so you end up explaining who you are and what you want all over again. ChatGPT Projects are OpenAI's answer to that, and for a small business owner they're one of the most useful features in the whole tool.

I'll walk you through what a project is, how to set one up, the memory choice, how sharing works, and four projects I'd build for a small business, each with instructions to paste straight in. How projects behave comes from OpenAI's own help pages.

What are ChatGPT Projects?

OpenAI describes projects as a way to keep related chats, files and instructions together so ChatGPT can use that context for ongoing work such as writing, research or planning. Think of a project as a folder with a brain. Everything you put in the folder, and every chat you have inside it, belongs to one job.

The quality of any AI answer depends on the context you give it. A project lets you give that context once, rather than pasting it into every new chat. It's available to signed-in ChatGPT users, subject to your plan and workspace settings.

A project is different from custom instructions. Your custom instructions apply to everything you do in ChatGPT. A project's instructions apply only inside that project, and they override your global ones. So you can keep a general note about who you are in your custom instructions and a specific brief for each client or job inside each project.

How do I set up a ChatGPT project, step by step?

Here's the whole setup, in the order I'd do it.

1. Create the project. In the sidebar, select New project, give it a name, and pick an icon and colour. Name it after the job, such as the client or the weekly task, so you can find it at a glance.
2. Add your files. You can add PDFs, spreadsheets, documents and images, or simply paste in text. The number of files you can add depends on your plan.
3. Write the project instructions. Open the more options menu and choose Project settings. This is where you tell ChatGPT how to behave for this job.
4. Link your sources. You can paste links from Google Drive, either files or folders, and from Slack channels, so the project can draw on material that already lives there.
5. Start chatting inside the project. Every chat you open from inside it uses the files and instructions you've set.
6. Save the good answers. When ChatGPT gives you a response you'll want again, save it to the project sources so it becomes part of the background.
7. Move your old chats in. Drag an existing chat onto the project, or use the chat menu and choose Move to project.

One catch on that last step: chats you started with a custom GPT can't be moved into a project. If a conversation matters, start it again inside the project instead.

What should I put in the project instructions?

This is where most people go wrong. They write one vague line, such as be helpful and professional, and wonder why the answers still feel generic. Good project instructions are specific about four things: who the project is for, what good output looks like, what to avoid, and how you want the answers laid out.

Here's a starting template you can adapt for any project.

Copy this prompt

This project is for [name of client, product or job].
Background: [two or three sentences about the business, who it serves and what makes it different].
Your role: act as my [assistant / editor / analyst] for this job.
Always: [write in plain, friendly English / use UK spelling / keep answers under a set length].
Never: [words or phrases you dislike / claims you can't back up / jargon].
When I ask for [a task], give me [the format I want, such as a short email followed by a subject line].
If you're missing something you need, ask me before you start.

Should I choose default memory or project-only memory?

When you create a project you'll make a choice about memory, and you can find it in Project settings. OpenAI offers two options: default memory, or project-only memory.

• Default memory: ChatGPT can draw on what it already knows about you from your wider account, as well as the project.
• Project-only memory: the project works from its own context, kept separate from the rest of your account.

My rule of thumb is this. For your own general work, default memory is convenient, because ChatGPT already knows your style. For anything involving a client, a confidential job or a team, choose project-only. It keeps one job's details from bleeding into another, which is exactly what you want when you're juggling several clients. And if a project is shared, OpenAI says it always uses project-only memory anyway.

How do I share a ChatGPT project with my team?

You can share a project so colleagues work from the same files and instructions. When you share it, you choose between two levels: chat access or edit access. Chat access lets people use the project and chat inside it. Edit access lets them change what's in it. The owner controls who the members are.

For a small team, I'd give most people chat access and keep edit access for the one person who owns the brief, so the instructions don't drift.

Are my project files private?

Treat a project like any other part of ChatGPT: it's only as private as the settings around it. OpenAI explains that for personal accounts, shared project data is used to improve its models only when the owner and every contributor have Improve the model for everyone switched on. On business workspaces, OpenAI says content isn't used for training by default.

You control the Improve the model for everyone setting in Settings, then Data controls. My advice is the same as for all AI tools: if you wouldn't want it read by a stranger, check your settings before you upload it. I've written about where ChatGPT's answers come from in my guide to how ChatGPT gets its information, which is useful background before you load a project with your own material.

One more safety point. If you delete a project, using the more options menu and choosing Delete project, OpenAI says it permanently removes the chats, instructions and project-only files in it. So copy anything you want to keep first.

What are some good ChatGPT project ideas for a small business?

These are the four I'd build first. For each one, create the project, then paste the instructions into Project settings and fill in the brackets.

1. One project per client

If you serve several clients, give each one a project. Add their brand notes, past work and a summary of what they want, and your drafts will stay consistent without you re-explaining every time.

Copy this prompt

This project is for my client [client name], a [type of business] that serves [their customers].
Their tone of voice is [describe it]. They never use [words to avoid].
Their main goals this quarter are [goal one, goal two].
When I paste in a brief, first summarise it back to me in two sentences, then draft the work.
Keep everything consistent with the files in this project. If something I ask contradicts them, tell me before you write.

2. A content calendar

Keep your audience notes, past posts and ideas list in one place, and ask for a fresh plan each week.

Copy this prompt

This project is my content calendar for [business name].
My audience is [who they are and what they struggle with]. My main topics are [topic one, topic two, topic three].
When I ask for a plan, give me [number] post ideas, each with a headline, the point of the post and the action I want the reader to take.
Don't repeat ideas from the files in this project. Write in my voice: [plain, warm, practical].

3. Customer service answers

Add your policies, delivery details and your best past replies. Then paste in a customer message and get a draft that sounds like you and says what your policies say.

Copy this prompt

This project helps me answer customer messages for [business name].
Use only the policies and facts in the files in this project. If the answer isn't there, say so and tell me what I need to check.
Reply in a [warm, brief, helpful] tone, using the customer's first name. End with a clear next step.
Never promise anything that isn't in the files, such as refunds, dates or special deals.

4. A weekly report

Drop in your notes or exports at the end of the week and ask for the same tidy summary every time.

Copy this prompt

This project produces my weekly report for [business name].
When I paste in this week's notes or data, give me: a short summary of what happened, what went well, what needs attention, and three priorities for next week.
Keep it to one page, in plain language, written for [me / my team / my business partner].
If any numbers look odd or don't match the files in this project, flag them and ask me before you build the summary.

Whatever the project, read what ChatGPT gives you before it goes anywhere. A project makes the first draft better. It doesn't replace your judgement.

Tools that work with projects

Projects sit alongside the rest of ChatGPT's toolkit. OpenAI lists web search, deep research, file and audio uploads, data analysis, voice mode, scheduled tasks and custom GPTs among its tools, so a project can be your home base. Google Drive and Slack are the two places you can link in directly, which suits most small businesses.

If you'd like help setting up projects that fit how your business runs, rather than working it out alone, this is how I work with business owners. And if you're curious how much you can ask of ChatGPT in a day, my breakdown of ChatGPT prompt limits explains what to expect.

Related guides live in the ChatGPT Prompts and Limits: 30 Guides to Fun Prompts, Photo Edits and Daily Caps.

Frequently asked questions

What are ChatGPT Projects?

Projects keep related chats, files and instructions together so ChatGPT can use that context for ongoing work such as writing, research or planning. Each project has its own instructions, which apply only inside it and override your global custom instructions.

How do I use ChatGPT Projects?

Select New project in the sidebar, name it, add files, then open the more options menu and choose Project settings to write instructions. Start your chats from inside the project, save good answers to its sources, and drag old chats in if you want them there.

Can I share a ChatGPT project with my team?

Yes. You can share a project with chat access or edit access, and the owner controls who the members are. Shared projects always use project-only memory, and what you can do depends on your plan and workspace settings.

What's the difference between default memory and project-only memory?

Default memory lets ChatGPT draw on what it knows about you across your account. Project-only memory keeps the project's context separate. You choose in Project settings, and shared projects always use project-only memory.

Can I move my existing chats into a project?

Yes. Drag the chat onto the project, or use the chat menu and choose Move to project. The exception is chats you made with a custom GPT, which can't be moved, so start those again inside the project.