How to Use Projects in ChatGPT: Set Up, Organize, and Reuse Work

Uncertainty: OpenAI’s naming and packaging has changed across time (Projects vs workspaces vs shared chats vs memory vs custom instructions). Without live sources, I cannot cite a single canonical OpenAI page that defines “Projects” consistently across all plans.

Before you start: decide what the project is “allowed” to do

Projects work best when you define boundaries up front.

1. Scope: What outcomes are in and out?

• Example: “Create 10 SEO articles for accounting keywords, plus internal linking suggestions.”
• Out of scope: “Paid ads, social posts, legal claims.”

2. Audience and tone: Who is the output for, and what style should it use?

3. Source policy: Do you require citations? If yes, define what “good sources” means.

• Example: “Use primary vendor docs, government sites, and peer-reviewed publications; avoid anonymous blogs.”

4. Data policy: Can team members upload customer data? If you are in a regulated environment, decide this before anyone drags files into the project.

If you are comparing how different assistants handle long-running workspaces, see Claude and Perplexity for alternative “project-like” workflows (terminology differs by product).

Step-by-step: how to set up a Project in ChatGPT

Because the UI can vary by plan and release, the steps below are written to match the most common patterns in ChatGPT’s sidebar navigation.

1) Create the project

• Open ChatGPT and look in the left sidebar for Projects (or an equivalent section).
• Select New project.
• Name it using an outcome plus a timebox, so it stays manageable.
  • Good: “Help Center Refresh, Q2 2026”
  • Risky: “Marketing” (too broad)

Tip: If you expect multiple phases, use a consistent naming convention: Project name | Phase | Date.

2) Add project-level instructions (your “brief”)

Your biggest quality lever is project-level guidance. Keep it short enough to be maintained.

Use a simple structure:

• Goal: What success looks like
• Audience: Who you are writing for (or designing for)
• Voice: Tone and style rules
• Constraints: Legal/compliance, forbidden claims, formatting rules
• Definition of done: What the output must include

Example project instructions you can paste:

You are my assistant for the “Help Center Refresh, Q2 2026” project. Goal: Update 25 support articles for clarity and accuracy. Audience: Non-technical users. Style: Plain English, short paragraphs, no marketing language. Requirements: Provide a change log, list assumptions, and flag anything that needs verification. Output: Markdown with ## headings; include a short FAQ section.

Why this matters: If you do not centralize constraints, you will get inconsistent outputs across chats, even within the same project.

3) Attach “canonical” reference files (single source of truth)

Projects work better when you treat a small set of files as canonical.

Recommended baseline set:

• Master brief (one page)
• Brand voice guide
• Product or policy factsheet (what you know is true)
• Do-not-say list (compliance and claim restrictions)
• Templates (article template, email template, SOP template)

Operational rule: keep requirements in one place and update them. Avoid sprinkling “the real rules” across multiple chats.

Uncertainty: File limits (max size, number of files, and file types) vary by plan and may change. I cannot provide reliable numbers without citing OpenAI’s current docs.

4) Create separate chats by workstream

One project can contain multiple chats. This is how you avoid one endless thread and make review easier.

Suggested chat layout:

• “01 Brief and decisions” (where you record final decisions)
• “02 Drafting”
• “03 Fact-check and citations”
• “04 Reviewer comments and revisions”
• “05 Repurposing” (turn an article into an email, FAQ, etc.)

If your project is software-related, you may also want “Bug triage” and “Release notes.” For code-heavy work, pair ChatGPT with Cursor to keep coding workflows in an editor.

5) Use a consistent prompt template inside the project

A template reduces drift and makes results comparable.

Copy/paste prompt template:

1. Task: What you want produced
2. Inputs: Which attached files to use
3. Constraints: Length, tone, formatting, prohibited items
4. Checks: Ask the model to list assumptions and unknowns

Example:

Task: Draft support article “Resetting your password.” Inputs: Use the attached “Product Factsheet” and “Voice Guide.” Constraints: No claims about security features unless explicitly in factsheet; keep under 700 words. Output: Markdown; include steps, troubleshooting, and a 4-question FAQ. Checks: List assumptions and any missing product details needed to verify accuracy.

6) Save and reuse “gold standard” outputs

When you get a strong output, do not rely on memory. Convert it into an asset:

• Add it to the Master brief as an example
• Store a template file (or a prompt block) in the project
• Keep a “Decisions” message that records what you settled on (terminology, formatting, policy wording)

7) Collaborate carefully (if your plan supports sharing)

If your account supports shared projects or team workspaces, define rules:

• Who can add or replace canonical files?
• What is the review process (one owner, or rotating reviewer)?
• Where is the final source of truth (Google Docs, Notion, Git repo)?

If your organization already runs documentation in Notion, you may keep the authoritative docs in Notion AI and use ChatGPT projects for drafting and QA.

Uncertainty: Exactly how project sharing works (permissions, roles, audit logs) depends on plan (Plus vs Team/Business vs Enterprise) and current product behavior.

Practical workflows (copy-ready)

These are common ways people use projects day-to-day.

Workflow A: Content production project

• Canonical files: keyword list, brand voice, claim restrictions, internal linking rules
• Chats: outlines, drafts, fact-check, internal links, repurposing
• Output standard: every draft includes sources (links) and a list of assumptions

If you are building slide decks from the same project assets, Gamma can be a better fit for turning structured text into presentations, while ChatGPT stays the “brief and draft” engine.

Workflow B: Customer support knowledge base cleanup

• Canonical files: current macros, product factsheet, escalation rules
• Chats: rewrite articles, identify gaps, create troubleshooting flows
• Governance: one “Decisions” chat that records approved phrasing

Workflow C: Research synthesis (with strict sourcing)

• Canonical files: your research question, inclusion criteria, banned sources
• Chats: search plan, summary table, counterarguments, final write-up

If you need a research-first tool with built-in citation workflows, compare ChatGPT projects to Perplexity (feature sets differ; verify for your plan).

Common pitfalls (and how to avoid them)

1. Assuming the project automatically “knows” everything

• Fix: Always specify the files to use and ask for a “what I relied on” list.

2. Letting multiple chats contradict each other

• Fix: Maintain a single canonical brief and decision log.

3. Uploading sensitive data without a policy

• Fix: Use redaction, minimize data, and confirm your org’s plan terms for retention and training.

4. Treating outputs as verified facts

• Fix: Add a required step: “List uncertainties and what would verify them.”

Compliance and privacy checklist (non-legal guidance)

If you use projects for business work, treat them like any other system that stores information.

• Data minimization: Only upload what you need.
• PII/PHI/PCI: Do not upload regulated data unless your plan and contract explicitly support it.
• Access controls: If sharing is enabled, apply least privilege.
• Retention and training: Confirm whether chats/files can be used for model improvement for your plan.
• Auditability: If you need audits, confirm whether your plan provides logs and admin controls.

Frameworks you may need to consider (depending on your org and use case): GDPR, CCPA/CPRA, HIPAA (only with appropriate contractual terms), SOC 2 expectations, ISO 27001 expectations.

Uncertainty: I cannot cite OpenAI’s current retention, training-use, or certification statements without web sources. If you provide the specific OpenAI Help Center and pricing URLs you want used, I can rewrite this section with precise, citable claims.

Pricing and availability (what I can and cannot say)

Projects availability and limits may differ across Free, Plus, Team/Business, and Enterprise plans. Without access to live OpenAI pricing and plan documentation in this chat, I cannot responsibly state exact prices, quotas, or which tier includes Projects.

If you want a fully sourced section, send:

• Your plan target (Free, Plus, Team/Business, Enterprise)
• Your region and currency
• The OpenAI pricing page URL and the relevant Help Center URLs

I will then produce a pricing table and feature matrix with citations.

Related AIDIRECTORY pages

• ChatGPT for the core assistant and plan options
• Claude for an alternative assistant with different long-context workflows
• Perplexity for research-focused flows
• Notion AI for knowledge base centered workflows
• Zapier if your “project” needs automation between apps (for example, turning a finished draft into tasks or docs)