OpenAI launches ChatGPT Projects, letting you organize files, chats in groups

OpenAI’s latest release, Projects in ChatGPT, addresses the need to organize files and conversations on ChatGPT. The feature is similar to Google’s popular NotebookLM application. 

During the sixth day of its “12 Days of OpenAI” live stream, the company presented Projects in ChatGPT, allowing users to create folders and add conversations and documents, bringing these capabilities together in one place. 

OpenAI rolled out Projects to ChatGPT Plus, Pro and Teams subscribers on Friday. However, ChatGPT Enterprise and Edu users will have to wait until January to access the new function. The company said it will “work hard” to offer Projects in ChatGPT to all users. Projects can be accessed on the ChatGPT website or the Windows desktop app. Mobile app users and MacOS desktop app users can view Projects. 

The feature is reminiscent of Google’s NotebookLM, although that application is more geared toward research. Unlike NotebookLM’s Audio Overview, Projects on ChatGPT does not offer podcast narration. However, users of Projects on ChatGPT can still access other features of ChatGPT in conversations, such as Voice Mode, web search and Canvas. 

NotebookLM proved so popular that some businesses began using the app beyond research, including in CRM-like tasks, thanks to its ability to organize files and other information on a specific topic. 

Make a project 

Projects will appear in the ChatGPT sidebar. To create a new one, click the “Plus” icon. Then, you can can name the project and customize its colors. 

One feature of Projects is the ability to customize how it will respond through custom instructions. For example, a project manager can open a project to build a website. They can explain what the project is and what the website is for, and instruct ChatGPT to favor opening ChatGPT’s Canvas for coding. 

Then, users can upload related documents to fill the website. Projects takes information from uploaded documents and chats associated with it. You can move existing conversations on ChatGPT to a Project and have it reference those chats as data sources. 

OpenAI plans to expand the types of files Projects supports next year and add connections to Google Drive or Microsoft OneDrive. The company will also offer the option to toggle models through Projects. 

All-in-one platforms

Features like Projects in ChatGPT show how much OpenAI, Anthropic, and other chat providers want users to stay on their platforms to do their work. 

OpenAI rolled out Canvas in October and expanded its access earlier this week. Canvas allows users to generate and edit text or code in ChatGPT without copying and pasting code elsewhere. Anthropic’s Claude Artifacts functions the same way, but it can also show a website prototype.

Remaining on the main chat platform, Projects in ChatGPT lets users organize and work in the same window, showing that OpenAI plans to keep all of its new features in one place. Unlike Projects in ChatGPT, NotebookLM — which runs on an experimental version of Gemini 2.0 Flash and lets people chat with Gemini — is a separate app from the Gemini chatbot or Google’s other products, like its coding assistants.