Using projects in ChatGPT
Source: OpenAI Blog
Overview
Projects in ChatGPT are dedicated spaces for a specific body of work or area of focus. A project can hold chats, files, instructions, and related context in one place, so you do not need to restate the same background every time you start a new conversation.
Projects are especially useful for work that continues over time. Instead of spreading materials across separate chats, you can keep everything together in one place and return to the same context when needed. On some plans, you can also invite other people to collaborate within a project.
Getting Started
- Open Projects from the left‑hand menu.
- Create a new project and give it a name.
- Add files, set project instructions, or move existing chats into the project.
- If sharing is available on your plan, invite collaborators.
For ChatGPT Enterprise customers, admins can manage shared projects at the workspace level. Availability can also be managed by group through role‑based access controls.
Why Use Projects?
Without a project, context can become scattered. You may need to re‑upload the same files, repeat the same instructions, or search through past chats to find what you already worked on. Projects keep related materials—chats, files, and instructions—in one place, creating a more stable working context and making it easier to continue where you left off.
When to Choose a Project
- A topic you are researching over time
- A writing project with multiple drafts
- A recurring planning process
- A collection of files and conversations tied to one goal
- A shared effort where more than one person needs access to the same materials
If your task is quick and self‑contained, a regular chat may be enough. If you expect to return to it, a project is often the better fit.
Common Situations & How a Project Helps
| Situation | How a Project Helps |
|---|---|
| Ongoing research | Keeps notes, source files, and related chats together so you can build on earlier work |
| Writing and editing | Stores drafts, reference materials, and instructions in one place so revisions stay connected |
| Planning | Organizes plans, ideas, and supporting documents around one goal |
| Learning a topic | Brings together questions, study materials, summaries, and follow‑up chats |
| Personal organization | Helps manage longer‑running efforts like trip planning, job searching, budgeting, or major decisions |
| Shared collaboration | Gives collaborators access to the same files, instructions, and conversation history when sharing is available |
Project‑Only Memory (Optional)
When you create a project, you may be able to enable project‑only memory. This setting keeps the project self‑contained by limiting chat context to that project:
- Chats can reference other conversations within the same project.
- Chats cannot reference conversations outside the project.
Use this feature to keep one area of work separate or to maintain clear boundaries between projects.
Sharing Projects
On supported plans, projects can be shared with others. Shared projects allow collaborators to work from the same files, instructions, and conversation history inside that project. Everyone in the project sees updates in real time, reducing the need to manage separate copies of the same work.