Using Projects in ChatGPT

OpenAI has introduced Projects in ChatGPT, which are dedicated workspaces designed to consolidate chats, files, and instructions for a specific body of work. This feature allows users to maintain a persistent context, eliminating the need to repeat background information or re-upload files across multiple separate conversations.

Persistent Context and Organization

Projects solve the problem of scattered context by grouping related materials in one location. Instead of managing disparate chats, users can store files and set specific project instructions that apply across the project's scope. This creates a stable working environment that ensures more consistent results over time and allows users to resume work exactly where they left off.

Project Implementation and Setup

Users can create a project by selecting "Projects" from the left-hand menu, naming the project, and adding files, instructions, or existing chats. For ChatGPT Enterprise customers, administrators can manage shared projects at the workspace level and control availability via role-based access controls.

Recommended Use Cases

Projects are recommended for any task with ongoing context, whereas regular chats are better suited for quick, self-contained tasks. Key use cases include:

• Ongoing Research: Consolidating notes, source files, and related chats to build upon previous work.
• Writing and Editing: Storing drafts, reference materials, and instructions to keep revisions connected.
• Planning: Organizing ideas, plans, and supporting documents around a single goal.
• Learning: Bringing together study materials, summaries, and follow-up conversations.
• Personal Organization: Managing long-term efforts such as budgeting, job searching, or trip planning.
• Shared Collaboration: Providing collaborators with access to the same files, instructions, and history when sharing is enabled on the user's plan.

Project-Only Memory and Collaboration

ChatGPT Projects include a "project-only memory" setting that limits chat context to the specific project. When this is enabled, chats can reference other conversations within the same project but cannot access conversations outside of it, creating a strict boundary between different workstreams.

On supported plans, projects can be shared with other users. Shared projects enable real-time updates, allowing collaborators to work from the same set of files, instructions, and conversation history without managing separate versions of the same work.