OpenAI on Friday launched a new artificial intelligence (AI) feature for ChatGPT. The new feature, called Projects or just Projects in ChatGPT, allows users to create specific chat folders where they can ask questions about the same topic or about topics with the same context. With the ability to add files to projects, the feature is similar to Google’s NotebookLM. The AI firm highlighted that while paid customers of the chatbot will get the feature in the next few days, Edu and enterprise users will get it by January 2025.
Projects in ChatGPT are being launched for paid subscribers
Projects were released in ChatGPT, on the seventh day of the company’s 12-day shipping schedule. The feature was announced during a live stream and later posted on the AI firm’s official handle X (formerly known as Twitter). Currently, this feature is available for ChatGPT Plus, Pro and Team users globally. Free users will also get this feature eventually, but OpenAI has not mentioned any release date for it.
On the surface, Projects can be thought of as an organizing tool that allows users to separate chats by topics. This is useful when a user asks questions on the same topic repeatedly and does not want to add complete context each time. For example, users can create a project called “Research Assignment” and ask the chatbot to answer questions as an expert in the field. This way, as long as they use the same project, they don’t have to repeat instructions.
However, this feature can also be a very useful research tool with its Google NotebookLM-like capabilities. Like Google’s platform, Projects also allows users to add files. Once added, every response from ChatGPT takes into account the context of the documents. Users can also use this capability to ask questions about a larger document or research paper.
Projects in Chatgpt
Photo credit: X/OpenAI
Once available, this feature will appear on the left margin of ChatGPT’s web interface and desktop app. This feature is not currently available on the ChatGPT app on Android and iOS. Titled Projects, users can tap the ‘+’ icon next to the header to create a new folder. These folders are customizable and users can add favorite titles, emojis, and even change the color of the folder.
Once done, users can either add custom instructions or upload files to ground the chatbot’s responses. The interface also shows the user’s previous chats for easy access. Additionally, users can also access the ChatGPT search and canvas feature within projects. Once the folder is created, it will appear below the project header on the left margin.
