A Custom GPT for your most common work task — pre-loaded with your context, your preferences, and the right system instructions. No CRAFT framework required every time because your Custom GPT already knows all of it.
Requires ChatGPT Plus ($20/month). The Custom GPT builder is a Plus-only feature. If you're on the free tier, read through this lesson to understand the concepts — come back when you have Plus, or skip ahead to Day 3 which works on the free tier.
What a Custom GPT Actually Is
A Custom GPT is a version of ChatGPT with persistent instructions baked in. Instead of typing CRAFT context at the start of every conversation, you configure it once — and every conversation starts with ChatGPT already knowing your role, your goals, your constraints, and your preferred format.
You can also upload documents — your company's style guide, your product documentation, your FAQ, your past proposals — and ChatGPT will reference them when answering questions. This is called a knowledge base.
Example: A sales rep builds a Custom GPT with their company's product docs, their ICP (ideal customer profile), and their email templates uploaded. Instead of explaining context every time, they just ask: "Write a follow-up email for a prospect who demoed our analytics product but went quiet."
Building Your Custom GPT: Step by Step
Access the GPT Builder
- 1Go to chat.openai.com → Click your name/avatar in the bottom left → My GPTs
- 2Click Create a GPT
- 3You'll see two tabs: Create (a chat interface that builds the GPT for you) and Configure (manual controls). Start with Configure — it gives you more control.
The Configure tab — what each field does
Name: What you'll call it. "My Email Writer" or "Product Research Assistant" — whatever makes sense for your workflow.
Description: A short explanation of what this GPT does. Shown in the GPT store if you publish it.
Instructions: This is the most important field. It's your system prompt — the persistent context ChatGPT reads at the start of every conversation. More on this below.
Knowledge: Upload files here — PDFs, Word docs, text files. ChatGPT will search these when answering questions. Max 20 files, 512MB each.
Conversation starters: Pre-written prompts that appear on the opening screen. Use these for your most common tasks.
Writing effective system instructions
The Instructions field is just a long CRAFT prompt that's always on. Here's a template:
# Who you are
You are [role/title] at [company type/description].
Your job is to help me with [primary task].
# Context about my work
[2-3 sentences about your company, customers, or work context]
# What I use you for most
- [Task 1]
- [Task 2]
- [Task 3]
# How to respond
- Always use [format preferences: bullets/paragraphs/tables]
- Tone: [professional/casual/concise]
- When writing emails: [length, structure, sign-off style]
- If I ask for edits, show me the full revised version, not just the changes
# What to avoid
- Do not [specific thing to avoid]
- Never [another constraint]
- If you're unsure about something, say so — don't make things upWhat to Upload as Knowledge Files
The more relevant information you give it, the more specific its answers will be. Here are the most valuable things to upload depending on your role:
| Role | Most valuable knowledge files |
|---|---|
| Sales | Product one-pager, ICP description, objection handling doc, winning email templates |
| Marketing | Brand voice guide, messaging framework, competitor positioning, buyer personas |
| HR / People Ops | Employee handbook, job description templates, review frameworks, benefits FAQ |
| Engineering / Product | Architecture docs, spec templates, coding standards, product roadmap |
| Freelancer / Consultant | Service descriptions, proposal templates, client onboarding docs, rate card |
Privacy note: Files you upload to a Custom GPT are stored by OpenAI and used within your conversations. Do not upload documents containing confidential client data, PII, or trade secrets you're not authorized to share. Use a sanitized version or describe the context in the instructions text instead.
Build your first Custom GPT
- Identify your most time-consuming recurring task (email writing, report drafting, research summaries)
- Write system instructions using the template above — be specific about your role and context
- Upload at least one relevant document to the knowledge base
- Add 3 conversation starters for your most common prompts
- Test it with a real task and compare the output to regular ChatGPT
Day 2 Complete
- Understand what a Custom GPT is and how it differs from regular ChatGPT
- Know what each field in the Configure tab does
- Can write effective system instructions using the CRAFT-based template
- Know what files are most valuable to upload as a knowledge base
- Built at least one Custom GPT for your own work
Go deeper on AI tools
The bootcamp teaches you to build custom AI tools that go far beyond Custom GPTs — including tools that connect to your databases, APIs, and internal systems.
See Bootcamp Details — $1,490Ready for Day 3?
Tomorrow you'll upload spreadsheet data and ask ChatGPT to find trends, create charts, and generate business insights — no coding required.
Day 3: ChatGPT for Data