In plain words
If you use an AI for the same task again and again, say replying to customer emails, you end up pasting the same instructions and files every time: "use our tone, here is our price list, keep it short". These features let you save all that once.
There are two shapes. A reusable helper has a name, instructions and files, and you open it whenever you need that job done: OpenAI called these custom GPTs, Google called them Gems. A project is a workspace for one piece of ongoing work: its own chats, uploaded documents and instructions, kept together. ChatGPT and Claude both have projects.
These features keep changing. As of November 2026, OpenAI is moving custom GPTs to plugins and Google is turning Gems into skills, both packages built around reusable instructions that the AI can bring in when needed. The idea underneath stays the same: set it up once, reuse it many times.
Everyday example
A labelled folder for your CA
At tax time you don't explain your whole financial life to your accountant again. You hand over a folder: last year's return, Form 16, rent receipts and a note saying "I moved cities in July". Everything needed is in one place, so each visit starts where the last one ended. A project is that folder for an AI. A custom GPT or Gem is more like a printed instruction card for one repeat job.
Where the example breaks: Your accountant remembers you from last year. The AI only knows what is saved in the instructions and files, read fresh each chat, and long files may be searched rather than read in full.
How it actually works
None of these features retrains the model. They add saved text to every chat, the same way a system prompt and attached files would.
Instructions
You write standing instructions: role, tone, rules, format. They are placed in front of every conversation with that helper or in that project.
Knowledge files
You upload documents. When they fit, they go straight into the context window. When there is too much, the app searches them and pulls in the relevant parts, a form of RAG. Claude switches to this mode as project knowledge nears its limits.
Tools and connections
Some helpers can use web search, image tools or other apps. OpenAI's custom GPTs could call outside services through "actions"; their replacement, plugins, bundle skills and connected apps.
Sharing
Helpers and projects can often be shared. Google lets you share a Gem the way you share a Drive file, and Claude projects can be shared inside Team and Enterprise workspaces with "can view" or "can edit" rights.
- Custom GPTs (OpenAI)
- Launched 6 November 2023 as "custom versions of ChatGPT". Being replaced by plugins, with retirement reported for 11 December 2026
- Gems (Google)
- Launched August 2024. From November 2026 Gems on personal accounts move to skills, and work and school accounts follow in 2027
- Claude Projects
- Launched 25 June 2024. Available to all users including free accounts, with sharing on Team and Enterprise plans (as of November 2026)
- ChatGPT Projects
- Launched 13 December 2024, grouping chats, files and custom instructions
The newer "skills" format, short how-to packages an AI opens only when relevant, is explained on our agent skills page.
Questions people ask
What is the difference between a custom GPT and a ChatGPT project?
A custom GPT is a reusable helper you or others open for one kind of task. A project is a workspace for your own ongoing work, holding its chats and files together. As of November 2026, OpenAI is moving custom GPTs to plugins.
Are custom GPTs going away?
Yes. OpenAI is transitioning custom GPTs to plugins. Its migration guide says that at retirement, custom GPTs stop running and leave the GPT directory. Reports put the standard date at 11 December 2026, later for some Enterprise workspaces, and say the dates may change.
What are Gemini Gems?
Gems are Google's saved helpers for Gemini: a name, instructions and optional files. Google is turning Gems into skills, starting November 2026 for personal accounts, and recreating existing Gems automatically.
Does a project train the AI on my files?
No. Your files are read as reference during the chat, not used to retrain the model inside the app. Whether a company may use your data for future training is a separate setting in each service's privacy controls.
Is a project the same as AI memory?
Not quite. A project holds what you deliberately put in it. AI memory is the app noting things about you across all chats on its own.
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