ChatGPTFoundation
Set up ChatGPT once, in 4 steps.
This is the setup you do once. By the end of this tab, ChatGPT has the right settings, can see your email and calendar, knows who you are, and has a Project for your first job. Work top to bottom and tick each step off as you go.
Before you start
Check your settings
Check your settings
A few switches make a big difference: ChatGPT remembers you, tells you when long jobs finish, and only learns from your chats if you want it to. Most are already right. You're checking, not rebuilding.
| Setting | Where | Set to | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname and Occupation |
| Your first name and your role. Leave the other boxes for step 3. | It's how ChatGPT addresses you and pitches its answers. |
| Enable memory |
| On | Without it, ChatGPT forgets you between chats. |
| Reference record history |
| On | Lets ChatGPT use your past chats, not just saved memories. |
| Base style and tone |
| Optional. Professional or Efficient suits most business work. | Sets the default voice for every answer. |
| Responses |
| Push on | You'll hear when long answers finish. |
| Improve the model for everyone |
| Your choice, made on purpose. Turn it off if you'll share business details. | When it's on, your chats can be used to train future models. |
| Default permission |
| Leave it on Allow low-risk tools. | Lets ChatGPT save drafts and read your calendar without asking every time. It still can't send. |
Connect email and calendar
Connect email and calendar
This is where ChatGPT starts seeing your real inbox and calendar. It can read your mail and save drafts. Your Inbox Assistant never sends, and if ChatGPT ever asks to send, reply, or forward an email, click Decline. Connect only the tools you'll actually use: every extra connection is one more thing it can see.
Add the Gmail and Google Calendar plugins. They're separate, so connect both. On Outlook, add Outlook.
Tell ChatGPT who you are
Tell ChatGPT who you are
Your custom instructions follow you into every chat. Instead of filling in a form, you paste a prompt that interviews you and writes them for you. Now that your email is connected, it can learn how you write from emails you've sent.
- Copy the builder prompt below.
- Start a new chat in ChatGPT, paste it, and answer its questions. Rough or dictated answers are fine.
- Run out of time? Type "pause." You can finish later in the same chat.
- When it hands back your custom instructions, copy them and paste them where the click path below shows.
- It also gives you a short "How I sound" block. Save it somewhere handy. You'll use it in Skills.
I want you to help me write my custom instructions. These are standing instructions ChatGPT reads at the start of every chat, so it already knows who I am, how my business works, and how I like to work.
Interview me first. Here's how:
- Ask one or two questions at a time, then wait for my answer.
- Go section by section, in the order below. Tell me which section we're on and how many are left.
- Keep each question short, and give a quick example answer so I know what you're looking for.
- My answers may be rough, typed fast, or dictated. That's fine. Only ask a follow-up when an answer is too vague to use.
- If I say "skip," move on. If I say "pause," give me a one-line summary of where we stopped so I can pick up later in this same chat.
- Don't ask for passwords, account numbers, Social Security numbers, health details, or private customer information. If I share something like that, leave it out.
The sections:
1. **Me and my business.** My name and role, the business name, what we sell, who our customers are, where we work, and how many people are on the team.
2. **How I work.** How I make decisions, what I'm good at, what I'd rather hand off, and what a normal week looks like.
3. **How I want you to work with me.** Whether you should push back or just do what I ask, ask questions or make reasonable assumptions, and how much detail I want.
4. **What I'll use you for.** My top 3 to 5 jobs for you, as specific as possible.
5. **My tools.** Email, calendar, and the systems the business runs on, such as point of sale, scheduling, bookkeeping, or a CRM.
6. **How I sound.** How I write to customers and to my team. If you can see my email, read five or six emails I sent recently and tell me what you notice. If you can't, ask me to paste one or two. Pull out my greeting, length, tone, phrases I use, and how I sign off, then check it with me.
7. **How answers should look.** Length, bullets or paragraphs, and when a table helps.
8. **My rules.** Things you should always do and never do, like "never invent a price" or "always end with a next step."
When we've covered everything, write my custom instructions:
- Write in first person, as if I wrote it ("I own...", "When I ask for...").
- Give each section a short heading.
- ChatGPT has two boxes with different limits, so split it in two parts and label each one. Part 1, for the "More about you" box: sections 1 and 5, under 1,400 characters. Part 2, for the "ChatGPT instructions" box: sections 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, and 8, under 4,800 characters.
- Be specific to me. Cut anything that would be true of any business.
- End with a section called "Things I've had to correct" containing one line: "(Add to this list whenever I correct the same thing twice.)"
- Put the finished instructions in a block I can copy in one click.
Then, separately, write a short "How I sound" block, under 600 characters, that I can reuse later for my email skill.
Last, tell me in one line where to paste it: Settings, then Personalization, then Custom instructions.
Start with section 1.Organization instructions (Team plans only)
On a Business plan, the workspace owner can set Workspace instructions: company-wide rules that apply to everyone, on top of your own. Only an owner or admin can edit them. If that's you, write the rules everyone should follow, like how to describe your services or what never goes in a customer email. Everyone else, skip this.
Build your first Project
Build your first Project
A Project is a folder for one job. Its instructions and files load into every chat inside it, so you never re-explain the basics. Pick the job you want help with first. Each card has its own builder prompt.
Pick the job your first Project will do
I want you to help me set up a new Project in ChatGPT for my marketing: social posts, emails, my website, and promotions. Each Project is a folder for one area of my business. Its instructions and files load into every chat inside it, so I never have to re-explain the basics. You already know about me and my business from my custom instructions. Don't ask me anything that's already covered there. If you need something that isn't, ask. Interview me first: - Ask one or two questions at a time, then wait for my answer. - Keep each question short, and give a quick example answer. - My answers may be rough or dictated. Only ask a follow-up when an answer is too vague to use. - If I say "skip," move on. If I say "pause," give me a one-line summary of where we stopped so I can pick up later in this same chat. - Don't ask for passwords, account numbers, Social Security numbers, health details, or private customer information. Cover these topics: - Who I'm trying to reach, and where they find businesses like mine - The channels I use now (social, email, website, Google profile, print) and which ones actually bring in business - My offers, busy and slow seasons, and events coming up - My brand: the look, the words I use, and the words I avoid - How often I post or send, and who approves it before it goes out - A post, email, or ad I liked, mine or someone else's, and why When we're done, give me four things, each in its own block I can copy: 1. **A name** for this Project. Short, like "Marketing." 2. **The Project instructions.** Standing orders for this one job, under 4,000 characters. Include what this Project is for, who the work is for, what good work looks like, the format to use, and the always and never rules. Don't repeat what's already in my custom instructions. 3. **A document checklist.** The 5 to 8 documents I should add to this Project, most useful first, with one line each on why. For example: service menu, price list, posts that did well, brand notes, customer reviews. Remind me to use the newest version of each, and to remove card numbers, passwords, Social Security numbers, and health records before adding anything. 4. **Three starter requests** to try once it's set up, written the way I'd actually type them. Start with your first question.
I want you to help me set up a new Project in ChatGPT for my customers and sales: replies, quotes, follow-ups, and customer questions. Each Project is a folder for one area of my business. Its instructions and files load into every chat inside it, so I never have to re-explain the basics. You already know about me and my business from my custom instructions. Don't ask me anything that's already covered there. If you need something that isn't, ask. Interview me first: - Ask one or two questions at a time, then wait for my answer. - Keep each question short, and give a quick example answer. - My answers may be rough or dictated. Only ask a follow-up when an answer is too vague to use. - If I say "skip," move on. If I say "pause," give me a one-line summary of where we stopped so I can pick up later in this same chat. - Don't ask for passwords, account numbers, Social Security numbers, health details, or private customer information. Cover these topics: - The questions customers ask most, and how I usually answer them - How a quote or estimate gets put together: what's in it, my pricing rules, and what I never promise - How and when I follow up after a quote, a visit, or a sale - How I handle complaints, refunds, and cancellations - How my tone changes with new customers, regulars, and unhappy customers - What always has to come to me personally instead of getting a drafted reply When we're done, give me four things, each in its own block I can copy: 1. **A name** for this Project. Short, like "Customers & Sales." 2. **The Project instructions.** Standing orders for this one job, under 4,000 characters. Include what this Project is for, who the work is for, what good work looks like, the format to use, and the always and never rules. Don't repeat what's already in my custom instructions. 3. **A document checklist.** The 5 to 8 documents I should add to this Project, most useful first, with one line each on why. For example: price list, service menu, FAQ, a few past quotes, refund and cancellation policy, replies I was happy with. Remind me to use the newest version of each, and to remove card numbers, passwords, Social Security numbers, and health records before adding anything. 4. **Three starter requests** to try once it's set up, written the way I'd actually type them. Start with your first question.
I want you to help me set up a new Project in ChatGPT for running the business day to day: processes, scheduling, staff, and vendors. Each Project is a folder for one area of my business. Its instructions and files load into every chat inside it, so I never have to re-explain the basics. You already know about me and my business from my custom instructions. Don't ask me anything that's already covered there. If you need something that isn't, ask. Interview me first: - Ask one or two questions at a time, then wait for my answer. - Keep each question short, and give a quick example answer. - My answers may be rough or dictated. Only ask a follow-up when an answer is too vague to use. - If I say "skip," move on. If I say "pause," give me a one-line summary of where we stopped so I can pick up later in this same chat. - Don't ask for passwords, account numbers, Social Security numbers, health details, or private customer information. Cover these topics: - The processes I repeat every day or week (opening, closing, ordering, onboarding) - What keeps breaking, or only works when I'm there - Scheduling and staffing: how shifts or jobs get assigned - Vendors and suppliers: who they are and how I order - Hiring and training: how a new person gets up to speed - The documents that run the place now, even rough ones When we're done, give me four things, each in its own block I can copy: 1. **A name** for this Project. Short, like "Operations." 2. **The Project instructions.** Standing orders for this one job, under 4,000 characters. Include what this Project is for, who the work is for, what good work looks like, the format to use, and the always and never rules. Don't repeat what's already in my custom instructions. 3. **A document checklist.** The 5 to 8 documents I should add to this Project, most useful first, with one line each on why. For example: checklists, written procedures, employee handbook, vendor list, job descriptions, schedule template. Remind me to use the newest version of each, and to remove card numbers, passwords, Social Security numbers, and health records before adding anything. 4. **Three starter requests** to try once it's set up, written the way I'd actually type them. Start with your first question.
I want you to help me set up a new Project in ChatGPT for my own day-to-day work: to-dos, meeting follow-ups, and one-off writing. Each Project is a folder for one area of my business. Its instructions and files load into every chat inside it, so I never have to re-explain the basics. You already know about me and my business from my custom instructions. Don't ask me anything that's already covered there. If you need something that isn't, ask. Interview me first: - Ask one or two questions at a time, then wait for my answer. - Keep each question short, and give a quick example answer. - My answers may be rough or dictated. Only ask a follow-up when an answer is too vague to use. - If I say "skip," move on. If I say "pause," give me a one-line summary of where we stopped so I can pick up later in this same chat. - Don't ask for passwords, account numbers, Social Security numbers, health details, or private customer information. Cover these topics: - The one-off jobs I'd hand off first: a quick email, a summary, a list, a second opinion - How I keep track of to-dos now, and what falls through the cracks - What I do after a meeting or call: notes, follow-ups, reminders - How I like answers: short bullets, a draft I can send, or a checklist - What a normal week looks like, and when I'm slammed - What it should never guess at and should ask me about first When we're done, give me four things, each in its own block I can copy: 1. **A name** for this Project. Short, like "Scratch Pad." 2. **The Project instructions.** Standing orders for this one job, under 4,000 characters. Include what this Project is for, who the work is for, what good work looks like, the format to use, and the always and never rules. Don't repeat what's already in my custom instructions. 3. **A document checklist.** The 5 to 8 documents I should add to this Project, most useful first, with one line each on why. For example: a running to-do list, notes from a recent meeting, a template I reuse. Remind me to use the newest version of each, and to remove card numbers, passwords, Social Security numbers, and health records before adding anything. 4. **Three starter requests** to try once it's set up, written the way I'd actually type them. Start with your first question.
- Pick a card, copy its builder prompt, and paste it into a new chat.
- Answer its questions. It already knows you from step 3, so this one is shorter.
- Create the Project and name it what the builder suggests.
- Paste the instructions it wrote into the Project's instructions.
- Add the two or three most useful documents from its checklist. Newest versions only.
Wondering what else you could connect or set up? Ask what's possible