ChatGPT settings checklist prompt: free ChatGPT template
Updated · By Robert Breen
Use this when your team already uses ChatGPT for work and nobody has checked the account settings. It drafts a short checklist: the training setting, chat history, shared links and who can export or delete data. Each line says where to look and who confirms it, so the same setup happens on every account.
AI may describe menus from memory, and ChatGPT's settings change. That is why the prompt makes it mark every location as "verify in the app" instead of stating it as fact. Start with ChatGPT data controls so you know the names.
The prompt
Copy it into ChatGPT (or Claude, Gemini or Copilot) and replace every [BLANK] with your own details. It uses the four parts from Prompt Writing 101: Role, Context, Task and Format.
Role: You are an operations assistant at [BUSINESS], helping the office manager set up ChatGPT safely for the team. Context: Our staff use [PLAN] for [USES]. Information that must never be pasted: [NEVER SHARE]. The person responsible for settings is [OWNER]. You do not have access to the app, so you may be wrong about menu names and locations. Task: Write a one-page checklist of the account settings each person must confirm before using ChatGPT for work. Cover whether chats are used for model training, chat history and memory, shared links, and exporting or deleting data. For each item give the reason in one sentence and where to find it, and mark every location "verify in the app". Format: A table with the columns Setting, Why it matters, Where to find it, Done by and Date. Then three short lines on what staff must never paste. Plain words, no more than [WORD LIMIT] words.
Fill in the blanks
[BUSINESS]- Your business name and what it does, in a few words.
[PLAN]- The ChatGPT plan staff use, such as a personal account, Business or Enterprise. If you are not sure, write "not sure" and the checklist will say to confirm it.
[USES]- What staff use it for, such as drafting client emails or summarizing meetings.
[NEVER SHARE]- The details that must stay out of any AI chat, such as account numbers, tax IDs or client case facts.
[OWNER]- The one person who signs off, so the checklist has an owner.
[WORD LIMIT]- 300 keeps it to one page.
Example, filled in
A made-up example from the free lesson Safe AI at Work: What Not to Paste, Training Settings and Checking Answers. Lakeside Property Management is the made-up company in the Safe AI at Work lesson. Its office manager wants a checklist before four staff start answering tenant emails in ChatGPT.
Role: You are an operations assistant at Lakeside Property Management, a small property management company, helping the office manager set up ChatGPT safely for the team. Context: Our staff use personal ChatGPT accounts for answering tenant emails and drafting notices. Information that must never be pasted: tenant names, unit addresses, bank details and lease terms. The person responsible for settings is Jordan, the office manager. You do not have access to the app, so you may be wrong about menu names and locations. Task: Write a one-page checklist of the account settings each person must confirm before using ChatGPT for work. Cover whether chats are used for model training, chat history and memory, shared links, and exporting or deleting data. For each item give the reason in one sentence and where to find it, and mark every location "verify in the app". Format: A table with the columns Setting, Why it matters, Where to find it, Done by and Date. Then three short lines on what staff must never paste. Plain words, no more than 300 words.
What a good answer looks like
- Every "Where to find it" cell says "verify in the app", so nobody trusts a menu path the model guessed.
- The training setting is the first row and the reason names the real concern: client details used to improve a model.
- The "Done by" column holds a name or a role, not a blank.
How to check it before you use it
An AI draft can sound right and still say something you never told it. Use the habit from the Reply Faster lesson: check every promise, name, date and number against what you gave it before anything goes out.
- Open ChatGPT, go to Settings then Data controls, and tick each row against the real screen. Fix any menu name that is wrong.
- Confirm the plan claims yourself. Whether a plan trains on your data depends on the exact plan, so read the provider's current terms.
- Have your lawyer or compliance lead review the "never paste" lines against your actual rules.
- Try the checklist on one account before you roll it out to the team.
Why this prompt works
The Context admits the model cannot see the app, and the Task turns that into a rule: every location is marked for checking. That keeps a useful structure while the facts come from a person looking at the screen.
Practice it in the free lesson
Safe AI at Work: What Not to Paste, Training Settings and Checking Answers: Turn off model training, strip a tenant's bank details and address out of a prompt, then catch the two promises ChatGPT made up before the reply goes out. You do every step yourself in a practice copy of ChatGPT, and nothing touches your real accounts.
Also useful: Reply Faster: Turn a Messy Customer Email Thread into a Clear, Friendly Reply
Terms used here
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Frequently asked questions
- What ChatGPT settings should staff check before using it for work?
- At least the training setting (Improve the model for everyone), chat history and memory, shared links, and who can export or delete data. Your plan and company policy decide the rest.
- Can AI check my ChatGPT settings for me?
- No. It can't see your account, so a person has to open the settings screen and confirm each row.