# ChatGPT Projects FAQ: Instructions, Memory and Archive > Plain answers about ChatGPT projects for client work: how to create one, what Instructions do, the Memory setting, and Archive vs Delete. Source: https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/blog/chatgpt-projects-faq · Updated 2026-10-21 · Free from Stepthrough (https://learn.ynteractive.com) Quick answer A [ChatGPT project](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/chatgpt-projects) is a folder for one client or ongoing job, with its own instructions, files and chats. A normal chat is one conversation. Every [new chat](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/new-chat) you start inside a project begins with the project's instructions, so you stop re-pasting who the client is, who approves and the tone. The rule of thumb: one project per client, one new chat per task. The free [ChatGPT Projects vs chats lesson](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/chatgpt-projects-vs-chats) builds one in about 8 minutes on real ChatGPT screens. Last updated October 21, 2026 [Take the free module →](https://learn.ynteractive.com/courses/chatgpt-for-everyday-work/5)Module 5 of the free [ChatGPT for Everyday Work](https://learn.ynteractive.com/courses/chatgpt-for-everyday-work) course, about 8 minutes. No account needed. By [Robert Breen](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/about) · Published October 21, 2026 · Updated October 21, 2026 · 5 min read ChatGPT · Projects · FAQ · Habits The example is made up. Jordan Ellis is an account manager at Harbor Lane Marketing with 6 [retainer](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/retainer) clients, and the client in the lesson is Lakeside Dental, a 3-dentist practice. The screens are real ChatGPT (Plus plan), captured on 20 October 2026, and the answers are ChatGPT's real output from that run. A few private items in our sidebar are painted out. This is our own lesson, not an official OpenAI course. ## What does working without projects cost? In the lesson's example numbers, every new chat starts from zero. Jordan re-pastes the client, the contacts and the tone for **5 to 10 minutes a day**, and about **once a month** a draft goes out with another client's detail in it. That adds up to 2 to 3 hours a month, plus one apology. A project per client fixes both: the details live in the project, and each client's chats stay in their own folder. ## How do I create a project for a client? The lesson does it in three clicks and a paste: 1. In the ChatGPT sidebar, point at **Projects** and click the **+** next to it. 2. **Create project** opens. Type the client's name into **Project name**. Leave **Default memory** as it is for now. 3. Click **Create project**. The project page opens with **Chats** and **Sources** tabs and "No chats yet". ## Where do the client's instructions go? On the project page, click the **···** next to **Share**, then **Project settings**. Paste the client rules into **Instructions** and click **Save**. The lesson's instructions say who the client is, the retainer (4 blog posts and 8 social posts a month), the contacts (Dr. Ana Ruiz, the owner, and Kim Lee, the office manager), the tone (warm and plain, no medical claims or prices) and one house rule: always end drafts with a question for Kim to approve. You can download a template from the lesson and fill it in for each client. What to leave out: passwords, card numbers and anything the work does not need. ## What happened when I asked inside the project? On the project page, the lesson types into **New chat in Stepthrough tests - Lakeside Dental (client)**: *Draft this month's 4 blog post ideas for Lakeside Dental, one line each.* The request does not say who the client is or how to sound. The answer gave four October blog ideas, plain and warm, and its last line asked **"Kim, do you approve these four October blog topics..."**, exactly as the instructions said. The chat then showed up inside the project in the sidebar. ## Try it free, step by step **ChatGPT Projects vs Chats: Keep Each Client's Work Together and Stop Re-explaining**. When to use a ChatGPT project and when a normal chat is enough: give one client a project with its own instructions, see a new chat follow them, and see a normal chat ignore them. Real ChatGPT… You do every step yourself in a practice copy of ChatGPT, it checks your work as you go, and “Do it for me” finishes any step you get stuck on. Free, and nothing touches your real accounts. [Start the free lesson](https://learn.ynteractive.com/modules/chatgpt-projects-vs-chats) [Or read the full step-by-step guide](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/chatgpt-projects-vs-chats) ## What happened in a normal chat? The lesson then asks for a short Facebook post for the same client in a normal chat, outside the project. The post was fine, but it used emojis and hashtags and did not ask Kim to approve. Project instructions only apply inside the project. That is the whole difference between a project and a chat, seen in one test. ## Key takeaways - A chat is one conversation. A project is a folder with its own instructions, files and chats. - One project per client, one new chat per task, started from the project page. - Put the client rules in **Project settings**, **Instructions**, and click **Save**. - Look at the project's **Memory** setting when you create a client project. - **Archive** hides a chat; **Delete** removes it for good. ## Frequently asked questions **Do project instructions apply to my other chats?** No. In the lesson's test, a normal chat for the same client ignored the project's rules. Only chats inside the project start with its instructions. **What does the Memory setting in Project settings do?** Under **Instructions**, **Memory: Default** says "This project can access memory from outside chats, and vice versa". For client work you may not want one client's details showing up elsewhere. The lesson leaves it on Default and says to check your firm's rules before you change it. For how memory works in general, read [how ChatGPT memory works](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/blog/chatgpt-memory-how-it-works). **What is the difference between Archive and Delete?** Every chat has a **···** menu with **Rename**, **Pin**, **Archive**, **Delete** and **Move to project**. **Archive** hides a chat from the sidebar, but it is still stored; you can find it under Settings, Archived chats. **Delete** removes it for good. **Can I move an old chat into a project?** The menu has **Move to project**, but in the lesson's test it did not move the chat. The reliable habit is to start client chats from the project page, so they are in the right place from the start. **When should I use a normal chat?** For one-off questions that belong to no client. Anything you will come back to for a client or an ongoing job belongs in a project. **Is a project the same as custom instructions?** No. Custom instructions apply to your whole account. Project instructions apply only to chats in that project. See [custom instructions vs project instructions](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/blog/chatgpt-custom-instructions-vs-project-instructions) for more. **Which plans have projects?** The lesson was captured on the Plus plan. Check the [OpenAI Help Center](https://help.openai.com) and search "Projects" for what projects can hold and which plans have them today. **What should I learn next?** When to keep going in the same chat and when to start a new one. The [stop losing context lesson](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/chatgpt-stop-losing-context-new-chat-vs-keep-going) and [when to start a new chat in ChatGPT](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/blog/chatgpt-new-chat-vs-same-chat) cover it.For the slip-ups to avoid, read [ChatGPT projects mistakes](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/blog/chatgpt-projects-mistakes). Then [try the practice](https://learn.ynteractive.com/modules/chatgpt-projects-vs-chats). ## Free lessons in this post - [ChatGPT Projects vs Chats: Keep Each Client's Work Together and Stop Re-explaining](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/chatgpt-projects-vs-chats): When to use a ChatGPT project and when a normal chat is enough: give one client a project with its own instructions, see a new chat follow them, and see a normal chat… ## Watch it in a free lesson: ChatGPT Projects: Keep Your Brand Voice, Files and Instructions in One Place ### ChatGPT Projects: Your Brand Voice in One Place: video walkthrough Full walkthrough · 3:29 · with captions Set up a ChatGPT Project with your brand voice instructions, your price list and your style guide, so every new chat already knows your business. The whole lesson narrated step by step, recorded in Stepthrough’s simulated practice environment. [Watch it with chapters and the full transcript](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/chatgpt-projects-brand-voice#watch) From the free lesson [ChatGPT Projects: Keep Your Brand Voice, Files and Instructions in One Place](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/chatgpt-projects-brand-voice) ## Related terms Plain-English definitions, each with an example from a free lesson. [ChatGPT Projects](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/chatgpt-projects) · [New chat](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/new-chat) · [Retainer](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/retainer) [The full AI glossary](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary) ## Keep reading - [ChatGPT Projects: 7 Client-Work Mistakes to Avoid](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/blog/chatgpt-projects-mistakes): ChatGPT projects mistakes in client work: chats started outside the project, rules never saved, memory left unchecked, Archive mixed up with Delete. - [ChatGPT Projects: One Home per Client, Set Up Once](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/blog/chatgpt-project-for-each-client): Stop re-explaining each client to ChatGPT. Give every client one Project with instructions, files and project-only memory. Setup steps and upkeep. - [Chat vs Project in ChatGPT: The Difference for Work](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/blog/chatgpt-projects-vs-chats): The difference between a chat and a project in ChatGPT: a chat is one conversation, a Project groups chats, instructions and files. When to use each. [All blog posts](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/blog) · [All free tutorials](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content)