Quick reminder: ChatGPT changes almost every week, and several features in this guide arrived in the last few months. Check this article's published date before relying on it, and contact Softwired for training and materials that match the current version.
The short answer
ChatGPT, OpenAI's AI assistant, now has 2 main ways of working. Chat answers questions, writes and gives quick help. Work is an agent that takes on longer, multi-step jobs and hands back finished files.
Around those sit 5 more features worth knowing:
- Projects: workspaces for ongoing work.
- Memory and custom instructions: how ChatGPT remembers you and how you like things done.
- Plugins and skills: reusable know-how and app connections, replacing custom GPTs.
- Deep research: cited reports built from many sources.
- Space: pages and slides you share and edit with others.
The features at a glance
| Feature | What it does (checked 31 October 2026) | Learn it |
|---|---|---|
| Chat | Everyday questions, writing, analysis, images and voice | First |
| Writing blocks and code blocks | Edit drafts and code right in the chat. These replaced canvas | First |
| Custom instructions and memory | Tell ChatGPT about you and how you like answers. Memory has 2 controls: reference saved memories and reference chat history | First |
| Temporary chat | A chat that isn't saved to history or memory | First |
| Projects | Group chats, files and project instructions. Can link Google Drive files or folders and Slack channels, and can be shared | Second |
| Deep research | A research plan, many sources and a cited report | Second |
| Work | An agent for longer jobs that hands back documents, spreadsheets, presentations, reports and Sites. Can run scheduled tasks | Second |
| Plugins and skills | Plugins bundle skills (reusable instructions) and apps (connections to services). Skills are in beta on Business, Enterprise, Edu, Teachers and ChatGPT for Healthcare | Third |
| Space | Pages, slides and Spaces you can share and edit with others | Third |
| Dots | Always-on agents that keep working between conversations. Rolling out on Pro and Business premium seats, and in beta on Enterprise, Edu and Healthcare where an admin turns it on | Later |
The Learn it column is our suggested order. Start with the features marked First, then add the rest as your work calls for them.
Chat and Work
Use Chat when you want an answer or a draft. Use Work when you want an outcome, such as "Analyse these 3 spreadsheets and give me a summary deck." On desktop you switch with a Chat and Work toggle; on web and mobile it's a dropdown.
Work is available on paid plans other than Go. Free doesn't include it. Work runs in the cloud on web and mobile, and the desktop app can use local files and apps when you allow it. Voice works with Work too, so you can talk a task through.
Work replaces ChatGPT agent, the earlier agent mode, which is no longer available. Our guide to AI agents explains how to supervise this kind of tool.
How you'd actually use it
"Work: read the attached customer survey export, find the top 5 complaints, and create a single-page Word summary and a chart for each."
Projects
A project keeps related chats, files and instructions together, and its instructions override your general custom instructions inside that project. Each project uses either default memory, which draws on your wider ChatGPT memory, or project-only memory, which keeps the project self-contained. Shared projects always use project-only memory, and Work isn't available in project-only projects, so Work can't run inside a shared project.
How you'd actually use it
Create a "Tender responses" project with your capability statement, past responses and a style guide. Every new chat in it starts with that background.
Memory and personalisation
You'll find these settings in Settings > Personalization. Add custom instructions there, turn saved memories on or off, and choose whether ChatGPT can reference your chat history. Ask "What do you remember about me?" to review what it holds. If you turn off chat history referencing, ChatGPT schedules that information for deletion within 30 days. Our guide to AI memory and custom instructions covers the privacy side.
Plugins and skills replace custom GPTs
OpenAI will retire custom GPTs on 11 December 2026. FedRAMP workspaces and workspaces with an approved deferral have until 11 February 2027, and personal accounts can no longer create new GPTs.
To keep a GPT you made, go to My GPTs, choose Migrate to plugin, and test the result. The migration turns your instructions into a skill and brings across knowledge files and connected apps. Custom actions and the selected model stay behind, so check anything that depended on them. The new plugin starts private, so share it again with the people who used the GPT.
Find plugins in the sidebar under Plugins. Skills sit in the Plugin Directory under the Skills tab, and eligible accounts include a built-in skill-creator to help you make new ones. Our guide to custom GPTs, Gems, skills and plugins compares the change across tools.
Deep research
Pick Deep research from the + menu or the sidebar. ChatGPT proposes a plan you can edit and lets you restrict or prioritise sites. It shows progress as it works and delivers a cited report you can download as Markdown, Word or PDF. Our guide to deep research shows how to check the report.
Space
Space holds the documents you want to keep. You can share pages, slide decks and whole Spaces with View, Comment or Edit access, and slides currently offer View and Edit only. Teammates can comment and ask ChatGPT to make specific changes.
Plans in brief
ChatGPT plans include Free, Go, Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise and Edu, and features vary by plan. Business, Enterprise and Edu plans don't use your content for training by default, which makes them the starting point for work use. Prices change often, so check OpenAI's pricing page for current figures.
Watch-outs
- Features roll out gradually, so your screen may not match a colleague's.
- Check who can see a project, page or plugin before you share it.
- Review everything Work produces before it goes out.
Frequently asked questions
What replaced canvas in ChatGPT?
Writing blocks and code blocks in the chat replaced canvas. For documents you want to keep or share, use Pages in Space.
Can I still use my custom GPTs?
Yes, until OpenAI retires them on 11 December 2026 for most accounts. Migrate the ones you need to plugins before then.
Is ChatGPT safe for business data?
Use a business plan (Business, Enterprise, Edu, Healthcare or Teachers), where your content isn't used for training by default, and follow your organisation's policies.
Related guides
- AI tool features explained: a plain-English guide for 2026
- Custom GPTs, Gems, skills and plugins explained
- What is an AI agent? Cowork, Work and Task explained
Put it to work with AI On Ramp
ChatGPT gives the most when your team sets up Projects, memory and plugins around the work it already does.
AI On Ramp gets your team using AI with confidence, on their own work and across teams, while you keep its cost and risk under control. We set up the tools, then our consultants sit beside your most advanced AI users and build real in-house workflows with them. Your nominated AI Lead gets the governance tools and our ongoing support to keep the business current as the tools change. We bring deep technical expertise and decades of business change management, and we work face to face from Brisbane and along Australia's east coast. See how AI On Ramp works.
Want to talk through how this applies to your team? Book a call with Softwired.
