Why this matters
If you do client work in ChatGPT, you probably paste the same client details into every new chat, and sooner or later a draft picks up the wrong client's name or tone. That is a chat problem, not a ChatGPT problem: a chat only knows what is in that chat.
A project fixes it. Give each client a project, write the client's rules once in Project settings, and every new chat you start inside it already knows them. Do the practice first, then set up your own clients with the checklist below.
Practice
Do every step yourself in a practice copy of the real tool. It checks your work, and “Do it for me” finishes any step you get stuck on.
What you’ll build
A ChatGPT project for one client, with the client's rules in Project settings > Instructions. A new chat inside it that follows those rules without being told, and a normal chat that shows you why that matters.
You also know where Archive, Delete and Move to project live, and what the project's own Memory option means.
What you need
- Nothing to start the practiceEvery screen is a real ChatGPT capture. Nothing touches your account.
- A ChatGPT account with Projectschatgpt.com, sidebar > Projects. We tested on the Plus plan; check OpenAI's help center for your plan.
- Your client rulesWho the client is, who approves, the tone and one house rule. The download below is a template.
Concepts
A chat is a conversation, a project is a folder
A chat holds one conversation. A project holds instructions, files (the Sources tab) and any number of chats. Every new chat inside a project starts with the project instructions.
Rule of thumb: one project per client or ongoing job, one new chat per task inside it. Normal chats are for one-off questions that belong to no client.
Project instructions only apply inside the project
In our test, a chat inside the project ended with the approval question the instructions asked for. A request for the same client in a normal chat did not. If a client chat starts outside the project, the rules are simply not there.
Archive, delete and project memory
Archive hides a chat from the sidebar; it is still stored under Settings > Archived chats. Delete removes it for good. Project settings also has its own Memory option (Default lets the project use memory from your other chats, and the other way round): check it against your firm's rules.
Do it for real
Now repeat it in your own account. Tick each step as you go.
Downloads
- Client project instructions template (.txt)The fill-in-the-blanks instructions, our example and the four habits.
Quick check
3 questions to check you’ve got it.
1. You start a chat about a client from New chat, not from the client's project. Do the project instructions apply?
- Yes, ChatGPT knows which client you mean
- No, project instructions only apply to chats inside the project
- Only if memory is on
Show the answer
No, project instructions only apply to chats inside the project. Our normal chat for the same client ignored the project rules. Start client chats from the project page.
2. What is a good way to organise six clients?
- One long chat for everything
- One project per client, a new chat per task inside it
- A new account per client
Show the answer
One project per client, a new chat per task inside it. Projects keep each client's rules and chats together; new chats keep each task clean.
3. You archive a client chat. Is it deleted?
- Yes, after 30 days
- No, it is hidden from the sidebar and kept under Settings > Archived chats
- Yes, immediately
Show the answer
No, it is hidden from the sidebar and kept under Settings > Archived chats. Archive hides. Delete removes.