Worth knowing up front: AI products ship changes most weeks, and project features in particular are being reworked right now. Check this article's published date, and talk to Softwired if you'd like current, hands-on training material.
The short answer
A project is a folder for AI work. It keeps related chats, uploaded files and a set of instructions together, so every chat inside it starts with the same background. ChatGPT and Claude call it a project. Gemini's closest equivalent is a notebook, and Microsoft 365 Copilot has Copilot Notebooks. A project saves you re-uploading the same files and re-explaining the same background each time you start a chat on recurring work.
What goes in a project
- Files (sometimes called project knowledge or sources): PDFs, spreadsheets, documents, images or pasted text.
- Instructions: rules that apply only inside the project, such as "Act as our bid writer. Use our tone guide."
- Chats: every conversation you start in the project can draw on the files, the instructions and, in some tools, the other chats in that project.
What each tool calls it
This guide covers ChatGPT from OpenAI, Claude from Anthropic, Gemini from Google, Microsoft 365 Copilot from Microsoft, Grok from xAI and Meta AI from Meta. We checked these details on 31 October 2026. "Not confirmed" means we could not find the feature on an official page.
| Tool | Name | Notable details |
|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT | Projects | Holds files, instructions and app links (Google Drive files or folders, Slack channels). You choose default memory or project-only memory. You can share a project with chat or edit access, and start a Chat or a Work task inside it. |
| Claude | Projects | Holds project knowledge and project instructions. Available on all plans, and Free users can create up to 5. On paid plans, Claude automatically switches to retrieval (RAG) when the knowledge gets large. Sharing is available on Team and Enterprise. Anthropic is testing a new version of projects, starting in Claude Code, its coding tool. |
| Gemini | Notebooks | Notebooks from Gemini Notebook (formerly NotebookLM) appear in Gemini and sync both ways, including sources and custom instructions. |
| Microsoft 365 Copilot | Copilot Notebooks | Pulls together files, Outlook emails, Teams meetings and web links as references. A lighter version sits in the Microsoft 365 Copilot app, and the full experience is in OneNote. |
| Grok | Projects | Named in Grok's official FAQ. Feature detail not confirmed. |
| Meta AI | Not confirmed | Meta says everything Meta AI creates for you "now lives in one place". We could not confirm a project-style feature. |
A note on the word "workspace"
"Workspace" is easy to confuse with "project". In ChatGPT, a workspace is your organisation's Business or Enterprise account. In Grok Business, you switch between a personal workspace and a team workspace. In Google, Workspace is the Gmail, Docs and Drive suite. To find the project feature itself, look for Projects in ChatGPT and Grok, or Notebooks in Gemini.
How you'd actually use it
Monthly board reporting
Create a project called "Monthly board report". Upload last month's report, the board's preferred format and your KPI definitions. Add the instruction: "Use the same headings as the attached report. Flag any number that changed more than 10% and ask me why." Each month, open a new chat in the project, upload the new figures and ask for a draft.
A team knowledge base
In a shared ChatGPT project, a sales team keeps product sheets, pricing rules and approved case studies. Anyone in the project can ask, "What's our standard answer on warranty for commercial installs?" and get an answer drawn from the shared files.
Study or onboarding
In a Gemini notebook, add the staff handbook and policy documents, then ask Gemini to create a quiz for new starters.
Memory and privacy in projects
- In ChatGPT, project-only memory keeps the project sealed off: it won't use your general memories, and chats outside the project can't see it. Shared projects always use project-only memory.
- Every member of a shared project can open its files, so upload only what the whole group should see.
- On business plans, admins can control who may create or share projects.
Watch-outs
- Projects make the AI more consistent, not more accurate. It can still misread a file, so check each output against the source.
- File limits vary by plan. If you hit one, combine files or split the work into 2 projects.
- In ChatGPT, chats started with a custom GPT can't be moved into a project.
Frequently asked questions
Is a project the same as a custom GPT or Gem?
They do different jobs. A project is a shared folder for ongoing work that grows over time. A custom GPT or Gem is a reusable assistant you call on for a specific job. Both are moving to skills and plugins: custom GPTs retire on 11 December 2026, and Gems become read-only for personal Google accounts on 17 November 2026. More in Custom GPTs, Gems, skills and plugins explained.
Can I share a project?
Yes. ChatGPT supports sharing on most plans, and Claude supports it on Team and Enterprise plans. On business plans, your admin decides who can share.
Do projects cost extra?
OpenAI states projects are included with every qualifying ChatGPT plan. Claude projects are available on every plan, including Free.
Related guides
- AI memory and custom instructions explained
- AI connectors, apps and MCP explained
- AI tool features explained: a plain-English guide for 2026
Put it to work with AI On Ramp
Projects work best when the team agrees which projects exist and what goes in each one.
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.
