How to use ChatGPT Projects
A ChatGPT Plus Pro, or Teams subscription.
THE FREE VERSION OF CHATGPT can be an excellent way to help you keep tasks on track. You can create and save ongoing ‘chats’ related to your work, as well as analyze individual files.
Still, if you have a serious undertaking such as a wedding, vacation, or hobby then the basic version of ChatGPT can struggle to manage multiple conversations and files.
This is where ChatGPT ‘Projects’ is useful. At its core, it’s a way to centralize all conversations and files. You can even add custom instructions to explain the nature of your project and what you’re planning. Projects also has a dedicated section to upload unlimited numbers of files.
In this tutorial, we’ll focus on how to max out your workflow by setting up your first ChatGPT project. You’ll also learn how to add and generate conversations, analyze files, generate images and code, and manage project data. –NATE DRAKE
1 SET UP YOUR PROJECTTo start using ChatGPT Projects you’ll need to be logged in to either the main site (https://chatgpt.com/) or be using the official app, which is available in the Microsoft Store.
» Currently, the Projects feature is only available to Plus, Pro, or Teams users. If you’re using the free version of ChatGPT, you’ll need to upgrade. You can do this from the website by clicking your profile avatar at the top right of the screen and choosing ‘Upgrade Plan’. ‘Plus’ subscriptions are $20 per month before tax.
» Entering your debit/credit information is simple, but during our tests, we found that we had to disconnect from our VPN for the payment to be processed.
» Once the upgrade is complete, you’ll see a new section in the ChatGPT sidebar entitled ‘Projects’. Select ‘New Project’ to begin. You’ll now be asked to enter a name for your project, eg. ‘Building my Dream PC.’ Click ‘Create Project’ to continue.
» Once the project loads, choose ‘Add Instructions’. As the site explains, this allows you to add prompts to tailor ChatGPT’s responses. For instance, for building your dream PC, you could instruct the AI to keep answers factual and concise. You also may ask it to provide specifications and pricing for components where possible. [Image A]
» Once these changes are saved, it’s time to start adding some content of your own. In the case of our ‘Dream PC’ project, we’d already asked ChatGPT about the best gaming monitors on the market right now. If you have existing conversations like this that are relevant to the current project, drag and drop them into the main window from the side bar. These will now appear under ‘Chats in this project’.
  » You can do the same for any relevant files you have. Click ‘Add Files’ to upload from your local drive. ChatGPT supports most popular formats, including Microsoft Office documents, Markdown files, and PDFs. If you return to the main screen, the number of uploaded files are listed under ‘Project files’. [Image B]
2 ADDING TO YOUR PROJECTWhile Projects supports transferring chats and uploading existing content, you can also generate and store new conversations.
» In the previous step, we imported an existing chat about gaming monitors. To create another, just click ‘New Chat in this project’ and enter a new query, eg. “List the current top 3 gaming keyboards.” [Image C]
» The new conversation will open in a separate tab. This is a good opportunity for you to check how faithfully ChatGPT has followed the instructions you set earlier. For instance, in the previous step we stated that responses must be concise and list specifications and prices, which is the case here.
  » Select your project name in the sidebar to return to the main window. From here, you can tweak instructions. We found this necessary, as by default, ChatGPT will list results based on your current location, as determined by your IP address. If your project is region-specific, be sure to specify your location.
» You can also add further conversations. These are listed under ‘Chats in this project’. The options (…) button allows you to rename conversations for easy identification, as we had to amend the year to 2025 for the best gaming monitors. From here, you can also delete conversations you don’t need. [Image D]
» Once you’ve put together information using multiple conversations and files, you can have your ChatGPT project collate this information. For example, there are two existing conversations concerning the three best current GPUs and three best gaming monitors on the market. We started a new conversation asking ChatGPT to determine the ideal combination of hardware components, based on the models it had already researched. ChatGPT listed this, along with a total price.
» ChatGPT defaults to the 4o model for projects. If you’re preparing a project that doesn’t require intensive processing, such as preparing a list of wedding guests you can switch to GPT-4o mini. This is usually much faster. To do this, select ‘ChatGPT 4o’ in the top-left, then ‘More models’ > ‘GPT-4o mini’.
3 ADVANCED PROJECTS TOOLSIf you entered queries into the main projects window in the previous steps, you’ll have noticed that there are options to both ‘Attach files’ and ‘View tools’.
» The first option works in exactly the same way as ChatGPT, so you can upload a file for analysis. Projects also supports connecting Microsoft OneDrive or Google Drive accounts to upload files from there.
 © CHATGPT » During our tests, we found that files we attached to new chats in a project weren’t automatically added to the ‘Project files’ section, even if we specifically requested that ChatGPT does so. This means if you want to analyze a file, you should add it to ‘Project files’ first, then create a new chat asking ChatGPT about it.
» You can also use the ‘View tools’ feature to access DALL-E. If you do this, the new chat prompt will read ‘Picture’, at which point you can enter your requirements. [Image E] As with any new chat, this will appear under ‘Chats in this project’ on the main window. You can also rename or delete it in the same way.
» ‘View tools’ can also access ‘Canvas’. This is for collaborating on and writing code, though currently ChatGPT doesn’t support multiple users accessing projects. However, you can prompt ChatGPT to write code relevant to your project. If you do so, this will open Canvas so you can review and comment. [Image F]
» In the first step, we also covered how to drag and drop a chat into a project window. This is useful if you only have one project, but inconvenient if you have multiple ones. Instead, click the (…) next to specific conversations, and hover over ‘Add to Project’. From here you can choose a specific project.
» Currently, ChatGPT also has no built-in way to color-code projects. If you’re using a Chromium-based browser like Chrome or Edge, you can fix this by installing the extension ‘ChatGPT: Favorites & Color Highlighter for Projects & Chats’. Once you download it, click the (…) next to a project, then ‘Color’. [Image G]
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