The ChatGPT set-up in 7 steps.

Public prices in US dollars, excluding tax, subject to change

On Free and Go, everyday chats are unlimited. What paid plans add: thinking power for complex files, and Work, the agent that produces finished deliverables.

Choose based on what you will produce, not on the feature list. For regular professional use, Plus is the right starting point.

You are on Free. Do the whole guide with it. The day you want ChatGPT to think through a real file or produce a finished document, move to Plus.

You are on Go. You have projects and more files: enough for steps 1 to 6. Work and the Thinking slider require Plus.

You are on Plus. That is the right plan to start. Tick this step and move on.

You are on Pro. You have every thinking level. Keep Extra High and Pro for the files that deserve it.

In the model picker

ChatGPT answers in Instant mode by default. For topics that need reasoning, move the Thinking slider: Medium, High, Extra High or Pro depending on your plan.

Simplified illustration: the picker’s exact place varies by device, and options by plan. On Free and Go, you get a Think button instead of the slider. Your screen looks different? Let us know

Which level for which task?

In settings

Before handing over your files, decide what it keeps in memory and whether your chats are used to train the models.

Memory

To check what it knows about you, just ask: “What do you know about me?”. You can correct or remove anything. Turning memory off does not delete your past chats. Your screen looks different? Let us know

Data

In session We do these three settings together in “Set up your ChatGPT”, session 1. See the course

In personalization, projects, then a guided chat

By default, ChatGPT answers everyone the same way. Three places teach it who you are, from general to specific.

1. Personalization Settings › Personalization

Check that “Enable customization” is on. For work, “Efficient” or “Professional” are good picks; personality only changes the tone, not what ChatGPT can do. Your screen looks different? Let us know

Help me write my custom instructions for ChatGPT.

Ask me 5 questions, one at a time: my role, my business, my language, the tone I expect, and what I never want to see in your answers.

Then write a text of 1,000 characters maximum that I can paste into Settings › Personalization › Custom instructions.

2. Your projects Sidebar › New project

Project instructions only apply inside that project and override your global instructions. You can also paste a Google Drive link or a Slack channel as a source.

3. The guided setup In a new chat

Help me set up ChatGPT for my work environment.

Guide me step by step and start by understanding my business.

Ask me one question at a time.

I can't complete this step.

Explain it much more simply.

Give me one action per line and tell me the exact name of the menu or button to look for.

This step is done.

Now review my setup and tell me which useful settings we have not checked yet.

Start with the ones you open every day

In ChatGPT, your tools plug in through plugins. A plugin bundles one or more apps (Drive, Outlook, Slack…) and sometimes ways of working. ChatGPT can then search your files, summarise a document or find a message.

Pick the plugin, select Install plugin, then Connect and sign in to the right account. To manage connections later: Settings › Plugins. Your screen looks different? Let us know

Day to day, call them from the chat

The “+” or an “@” mention is enough. ChatGPT may ask for your approval before reading information or taking an action: read the request before accepting.

On Free: the plugin directory is open to you, but some plugins depend on your plan. If one is missing, that is probably why.

A project dedicated to one recurring task

An assistant is a method you no longer have to explain. The simplest way, on every plan: a project devoted to one task, with precise instructions and an example of a good result.

Your assistant as a project New project › ••• › Project settings

One task per project: meeting notes, client follow-ups, product sheets. Open a chat in the project and paste your raw material: the assistant applies the method. Your screen looks different? Let us know

Pick a task you do at least once a week, paste this prompt, and ChatGPT writes your assistant’s instructions with you.

I want to build an assistant for a repetitive task in my work. It will live in a ChatGPT project.

Start by asking me:
- the expected result;
- the inputs;
- the current steps;
- my rules and constraints;
- what must always be checked by a human.

Ask me one question at a time. At the end, write the project instructions, ready to paste into Project settings.

In session Producing, connecting your tools, building your assistant: those are sessions 2, 3 and 4, on your own files. See the course