Finding ways to use AI more effectively (as I start to build my own custom GPTs) is literally one of the things that helps me get up in the morning. 

(That and my 49th Parallel decaf coffee, ironically enough!) ☕️

With said coffee in hand, I am sometimes fuelled with frustration when AI works against me and doesn’t give me what I need in a timely manner. 

I’m sure you’ve experienced this, when ChatGPT requires a lot of hand holding, gives you long-winded empty answers, repeats things, and doesn’t go deep enough… 

Or my absolute favourite, when AI goes off the rails and full on hallucinates because it doesn’t have enough of the required information and instruction to guide it!

Just like this masterpiece below! 🤦‍♀️

When I had content creation clients (a service I no longer offer), I used to have ridiculously long conversations with ChatGPT to help spark ideas and guide me when I got stuck. 

(FYI, I still heavily edited what it gave me.)

The number of times I had to remind it what I wanted and re-upload reference material was a time suck… 

It didn’t make me work efficiently.

The best solution I’ve found for this is to start to build Custom GPTs (Open AI) or use Claude Projects (Anthropic’s version).

I’m going to focus on Custom GPTs in this post, as that’s the most popular of the two and considering ChatGPT now has over 400 million weekly users – it’s great to know how to use this!

I don’t know/understand what a Custom GPT is!

No worries. Maybe you’ve heard about them and it only makes like 60% sense, and you need someone to explain it to you so it’s something you’d consider using.

Or maybe you haven’t heard of them before. 

Start to build your own Custom GPTs because they are the way to create your own version of ChatGPT focused on a singular task. 

This does not mean using the default prompt window. 

 It involves its own setup area, where you give it detailed instructions and a knowledge base.

You can go super nerdy and use APIs (connecting to other apps) and play around with Open AI schema (coding). But don’t focus on this right now.

Once complete, you can make the GPT private, as in just available for you (but I’m sure Open AI can see everything FYI!), available to your team or for sale in the GPT store (requires a Plus plan).

That’s really it. 

Start to Build Your Own Custom GPTs: Best Practices & Steps

So you know what a GPT is, now you want to build one.

Once you upgrade your account to pro, go to “GPTs” in the left side menu, then my GPTs, and then create.

It’s best to use the configure tab, not create, so you have more control to build your GPT. It is also where you can upload your knowledge base and instructions, which is super clutch to these GPTs working well.

Very important for building a GPT are the instructions and knowledge base.

The instructions must be detailed, and you must rein ChatGPT in, so it doesn’t go off the rails and go nuts. (Bad GPT!) My instructions are at least 5 pages long.

When writing these, I use markdown so AI can read it. Markdown is plain text language so that AI can read headings, lists, links, bolding, italics etc…

Sections in the instructions include:

1. Brief overview of what the GPT is – Just to get us started so it has something to go by
2. Its role: For a proposal GPT:
   • “You are a proposal writer for the Virtual Spell, highlighting Virtual Assistant, Online Business Management, and AI Consulting services to small business owners, solo entrepreneurs, and teams.” You are a strategic partner who helps articulate what we do, why it matters, and how we can support potential clients based on their needs and pain points.
3. Context: Here’s where I list out the knowledge base that it must follow and not hallucinate and avoid producing errors.
4. Specific Responsibilities:
   • For the proposal GPT: Proposal writing, tone & structure, service accuracy, and adapting the proposal based on the service type
5. Methods & best practices: Here’s where I help guide it to what I consider to be a good & helpful answer when responding to my prompts.
6. General Guidelines:
   • I often use the same thing in all my GPTs to control its output. Here’s an example:
     • Use Canadian English in all writing.
     • Avoid buzzwords like “revolutionize,” “game-changer,” “disrupt,” or “skyrocket.”
       Do not make up services, links, or promises that aren’t backed by The Virtual Spell’s site or Kathleen’s actual offerings as outlined in the knowledge base.
     • Ensure that the copy is not too long, but to the point.
     • Be warm, approachable, and honest about what The Virtual Spell can offer.
     • If unsure, ask more questions before proceeding with a draft.

The Capabilities Section

Once you are done uploading your knowledge base and writing your instructions, you’ll come to the capabilities section of the GPT:

So what are these and what do they do?

1. Web Browsing: Pretty self-explanatory! Let your GPT search the web. End scene.
2. 4o Image generation: If you want to use Dall-E, keep this on.
3. Canvas: Create, update, and display text documents, code files, diagrams, and images in a side-by-side “canvas” area.
   • Present results visually, not just in text—so you can edit documents, preview code, or collaborate in real time in a shared workspace.
   • Handle tasks that need a persistent, visual representation (like note-taking, document generation, code projects, or visual brainstorming).
   • I think it’s worth turning this on.
4. Code Interpreter & Data Analysis: Your GPT can run code (usually Python) to process data, analyze files, or do calculations right inside the chat. It’s specific functions include:
   • Read and Analyze Files:
   • Upload files (CSV, Excel, PDF, TXT, images, etc.) and the GPT can open, read, and work with them.
   • Automate Calculations: Perform math, create charts, run statistics, or transform data.
   • Process Text and Documents: Extract summaries, pull key points, convert formats, or organize information.
   • Visualize Data: Create graphs, tables, or simple data visualizations to help you understand trends or insights.
   • Write and Test Code: GPT can write and execute short code snippets to solve problems, clean data, or even create small scripts—no need to install anything extra.

As absolutely amazing and useful code interpreter & data analysis is, it’s also the one that needs to be turned off if you are sharing this with the public. Without doing so, people can get your knowledge base & instructions… But security around these GPTs is a whole other topic.

Great, but what can I use it for?

I’ve already outlined a proposal GPT when explaining how to build one. BUT, let’s explore more.

Say you are interested in having ChatGPT help you and your team with commonly asked internal questions. You can upload a guide to internal resources with their locations, and SOPs that are in Notion, for example.

This is perfect for onboarding new team members and when you are in a pinch and forget where a resource is or what platform you are currently using and for what purpose. 

It happens to the best of us!

Or, say you are interested in having ChatGPT help you with market and audience research. 

You can upload the most detailed customer avatar, demographic information on past customers (without names and payment information ofc!), and session notes on their pain and struggles in business.

This is ideal for coming up with new products to launch and being able to preview what the response would be like and what should be in your messaging.

You see what I’m getting at?

This is by no means an exhaustive list. Like I always say with AI, the possibilities with custom GPTs are ENDLESS.

Now that I’ve got my use case, what are some best practices?

Ok, class is in session! 🤓

My best GPT tips are:

1. See what you have so much data on in your business and what you need help accessing & understanding.
2. Don’t be afraid of the configure tab; it’s where the magic happens.
3. Take your time to build your knowledge base and make sure it has everything it needs, just like you would give a new hire on your team. This could be tons of resources or one Google doc. Note that ChatGPT has a 20 file limit!
4. Ensure you write lengthy and precise instructions. Include what it should & should not do, what type of answers you are looking for, etc…
5. Use markdown when writing your instructions so AI can understand.
6. Test & fine-tune accordingly.

With these tips, you should be well on your way to creating some stellar custom GPTs! Exciting!! 🤩

P.S.  If you’re looking for help on creating your own custom GPTs or other AI uses, I’d love to work with you! 

My AI Power Magic Session is where I can give you a taster of what full AI consulting could look like for a fraction of the price and for a solid 30 minutes! This is perfect if you have an AI issue that needs solving STAT.

🇨🇦 If you are Canadian, check it out here.

🇺🇸 If you are American, check it out here.