Where do I save my setup?

Your setup is a short note that tells an AI assistant (such as ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini) how you sound, what you do and who you write for, and the rules it must follow. What does my AI assistant need to know? shows how to write one. This page is the next step: save it in your AI assistant, so the chats you start from it begin with your setup.

A new chat starts blank. If your setup is not saved, you explain your job again every time.

Do this on a computer, in a web browser such as Chrome or Safari. The phone apps name things differently. On a phone for now? Paste your setup as the first message of each chat.

Your setup, as one block

Here is a sample to copy. Change every line to fit you.

How I sound: Warm, plain and brief. I open with the person's name, get to the point in the first sentence, keep paragraphs short, and close with "Thanks," and my first name. No jargon and no exclamation points.
My job: I run a two-person heating and plumbing business. I write to homeowners, and to the suppliers we buy from.
My rules:
- You draft, I send. Nothing is sent, posted or filed on its own.
- When in doubt, leave it out: no customer records, card numbers or passwords.
- Keep every email under 150 words.
- If you're not sure of a date, a price or a policy, ask me instead of guessing.

Save this block in a note or a document too. Then you can paste it at the start of a new chat in any AI assistant, on any account.

Claude: a Project

A Project is a folder of chats that all start with the same instructions.

1. Go to claude.ai/projects, or click Projects in the left sidebar (the list down the left side of the screen).
2. Click + New Project and give it a name.
3. Click Set project instructions.
4. Paste your setup and click Save instructions.
5. Start each new chat inside the project.

Good to know. Projects work on free accounts, up to five projects. Claude reads the instructions, not the project name or description.

Gemini: a skill, or a Gem

A Gem is Google's name for a saved set of instructions, and Google is renaming Gems to skills. Google says that on personal Google accounts Gems become skills on November 17, 2026, and that it moves your Gems over for you. Work and school accounts keep Gems until 2027. If you do not see Skills yet, use the Gem steps below.

Which account is yours? A personal account usually ends in @gmail.com, even if you use it for work. A work or school account is one your business or school set up with Google, with its own web address.

Before you start. Skills are for people 18 and older, signed in to a personal Google account, with Keep Activity turned on. Google's help page, linked at the foot of this page, says where that setting is.

On a personal Google account, save it as a skill.

1. Go to gemini.google.com.
2. In the sidebar, open Customize, then Skills. If you don't see Customize, click More first. No Skills there yet? Use the Gem steps below.
3. Near the top of the Skills page, click Create, then Create manually.
4. Give it a name. For the description, say when to use it. For example: Use this whenever I ask you to write or reply to something for my business.
5. Paste your setup in as the instructions.
6. At the top of the skill, click Create.

To use it, start a new chat, type @ in the message box (older versions use /), and pick your skill from the list. Do this at the start of each new chat. Gemini may also use the skill on its own when your request fits the description, but do not count on that.

On a work or school account, or if you do not see Skills yet, save it as a Gem.

1. Go to gemini.google.com and click Open Sidebar.
2. Click Gems. If you do not see Gems, click Settings and help, then Gems.
3. Click New Gem.
4. Enter a name, paste your setup into the instructions, and click Save.
5. Pick it under My Gems to chat.
6. To change it later, open Gems, click your Gem under My Gems, make your edits, and click Submit.

ChatGPT: a Project, or custom instructions

Pick one. A Project keeps your setup to the chats inside it. Custom instructions apply to every chat you start, so use them only if this account is just for work.

A Project.

1. Go to chatgpt.com and sign in.
2. Click New project in the sidebar and give it a name.
3. Open the three dots menu (•••) in the project and choose Project settings.
4. Paste your setup in as the instructions.
5. Start each new chat inside the project. A chat started outside it does not get your setup.

Custom instructions. Open Settings (in the menu under your name or picture), then Personalization. Turn on Enable customization and paste your setup into Custom Instructions. Free accounts allow 1,500 characters, about 250 words.

Good to know. You may have heard of custom GPTs. Skip them. New ones can't be made on personal accounts, and OpenAI, the company that makes ChatGPT, is retiring them.

Another AI assistant

A new chat starts blank, so paste your setup in as the first message. That works in any AI assistant, on any account.

Check that it worked

Open a new chat inside your project. In Gemini, pick your skill or Gem first. Then ask:

What are my rules?

If it lists them, your setup is saved. If it does not, the chat was started outside the project, or the skill was not picked.

Then ask it one line

In that chat, before the first task, ask:

Before you write anything, tell me what you still need to know.

Answer its questions. Then pick a real task from your week, such as an email reply, and give it that. You review, edit and send.

If you have not written your setup yet

Two prompts from the workshop help you write it. Take names and personal details out of the emails first.

Here are 3 emails I wrote, with names and personal details removed. Describe how I sound in 5 short points.

Ask me 5 questions about my job and who I write for, one at a time.

The one fix rule

Fix the setup, not just that one reply. When the answer is off, edit the setup where it's saved: your Project, skill, Gem or document. Then every new chat starts with the fix.

The safety rule

Your AI assistant drafts, you send. Nothing is sent, posted or filed on its own. When in doubt, leave it out.

When these steps were checked

Every step here was checked against each company's own help pages on November 8, 2026. The ChatGPT steps were first checked on October 20, 2026, for the workshop. Menu names can change. If one looks different, look for the same word nearby.

Checked against: Claude Help Center, How can I create and manage projects?; Gemini Apps Help, About the transition from Gems to skills and Create and manage skills for Gemini Apps; OpenAI Help Center, ChatGPT custom instructions and Projects in ChatGPT.