This path is for you if ChatGPT is one app with several rooms and you are not sure which room you are in. Early parts are the plain guide, plans, a first half hour, the desktop app, memory, and files. Later parts separate Chat, Work, and Codex, then Custom GPTs, and when each one is the wrong solution. Start with the first part on this page.
Getting started
- 1 What is ChatGPT? A plain-English guide ChatGPT is OpenAI's assistant app. Each answer is built from more than your message: the chat so far, saved memories, custom instructions, Project files, attachments, and tools like web search. Learn to see and control each one.
- 2 Which ChatGPT plan should you pay for? Free, Go, Plus, Pro, and team plans compared Free, Go, Plus, Pro, Business, and Enterprise differ mainly in capacity, features, and admin control, not in magic truth. This Part 2 explains each rung, why Go exists, and how to choose a plan without FOMO. Re-check chatgpt.com/pricing before you pay.
- 3 Your first 30 minutes with ChatGPT on the web or your phone Part 3 of Learn ChatGPT from scratch. A guided first half hour on chatgpt.com and mobile so you leave with one real output and a clear map of web, phone, and what to skip for later.
- 4 How to use the ChatGPT desktop app for chat, office work, and coding Part 4 of Learn ChatGPT from scratch. How the desktop app puts Chat, Work, and Codex in one place, what Free still limits, and how to pick a mode without burning usage on the wrong door.
- 5 Where ChatGPT stores what it knows about you, and how to control it Part 5 of Learn ChatGPT. Custom instructions set standing prefs, memory can stick facts you can edit, Projects scope chats and files, and scheduled tasks appear on some paid tiers. You leave knowing what to turn on, what to review, and what to keep out of sticky context.
- 6 How to use ChatGPT with your voice, photos, and files Part 6 of Learn ChatGPT. Voice, images, and files turn everyday work into multimodal chats, with study mode and limited free deep research when available. You leave with a paste and upload ladder so you never drop SSN, passwords, or raw HR into a consumer chat.
- 7 How to connect ChatGPT to Google Drive, your calendar, and other apps Connectors and apps link ChatGPT to Drive, mail, Slack, CRMs, and more. Climb from plain chat to uploads, read-only access, write actions, and scheduled work only as far as the job needs, with IT policy first at work.
- 8 ChatGPT privacy at work: what to check before you paste anything Privacy, company policy, and the right tool matter more than clever prompts. Use this series-end guide for when not to use ChatGPT, a good-enough checklist, and what to read next on the AMS product map and tutorials.
Product map
- 9 Which ChatGPT mode should you use: Chat, Work, or Codex? Part 1 of ChatGPT product map. Plain English on Chat, Work, and Codex: what each mode is for, how usage differs, and a chooser you can use before you open the wrong door on desktop, web, or mobile.
- 10 Custom GPTs vs plain chat Part 2 of ChatGPT product map. When a Custom GPT earns its keep versus plain chat: saved instructions, knowledge files, plan limits on creating GPTs, and why a GPT is a recipe, not a full software product.
- 11 Which ChatGPT model should you use? A plain-English guide Pick a ChatGPT model by testing it on your own work. Check for missing facts, a vague request, or the wrong mode before you switch, then run a ten-minute blind side-by-side test and keep a short model log for your repeat tasks.
- 12 When do you need the ChatGPT API instead of a ChatGPT subscription? A ChatGPT plan is for a person typing; the API is for a program, with its own account and bill. Follow one team-chat bot idea from a free Custom GPT trial to a cost estimate, and see what the API adds and who has to own it.
Everyday use
- 13 Useful things to do with ChatGPT in your first week Part 1 of the ChatGPT everyday tutorial: a Mon-Fri week in plain Chat with write, plan, and learn buckets. One real deliverable per day, worked prompts, and no Work or Codex tourism.
- 14 How to get better answers from ChatGPT with structure and examples Part 2 of the ChatGPT everyday tutorial: role, goal, constraints, example, and format. Weak vs strong prompts, micro-examples, and a diagnose-patch-rerun loop when Chat is wrong.
- 15 How to work with long documents and many files in ChatGPT Part 3 of the ChatGPT everyday tutorial. How to handle long documents and multi-file work with chunking, indexing, quote checks, Projects, and a no-secrets recipe you can reuse at work.
- 16 How to study hard topics with ChatGPT by making it quiz you Part 4 of the ChatGPT everyday tutorial. Study hard topics with explain-simply loops, quizzes, teach-back, Study Mode ideas, and the mistakes that turn “learning” into copy-paste theater.
- 17 How to use ChatGPT for emails, meeting notes, and workplace writing Part 5 closes the ChatGPT everyday tutorial: audience-first emails, meeting agendas, action lists, and who/what/when follow-ups. Never auto-send. Check policy. Next: Work, then Codex, then Custom GPTs.
Work mode
- 18 What is ChatGPT Work mode, and what is it for? Work mode is the agent for multi-step office jobs: files, apps, decks, sheets, and docs you still review. Part 1 of the ChatGPT Work tutorial separates Work from Chat and Codex so you stop burning usage on the wrong door.
- 19 How to give ChatGPT Work its first task and approve each step Part 2 walks one low-risk agentic task with approvals: owned notes into a short status deck, tight tool access, and human review before anything leaves your desk. First Work run on purpose, not by accident.
- 20 How to check the results of a long, multi-step ChatGPT Work job Part 3 of the ChatGPT Work tutorial. Run multi-step jobs as a goal-plan-act-checkpoint loop: review the plan, steer mid-run, check usage, and finish with a result checklist that catches workslop before anyone else sees the file.
- 21 Should you use ChatGPT Work or regular Chat for your task? Part 4 closes the ChatGPT Work tutorial. Use a decision table for when Work beats Chat, when Chat is enough, and which wrong doors to avoid. Then continue to Codex and Custom GPTs with a series recap you can reuse on Monday.
Codex & coding
- 22 How to start your first coding project with ChatGPT Codex Codex is the coding agent surface in the ChatGPT desktop app (with Chat and Work). Part 1 of the ChatGPT Codex tutorial: open a project, ask orientation questions, make one tiny change, and review the diff before you commit.
- 23 How to explore a code project safely with ChatGPT Codex before changing it Part 2 of the ChatGPT Codex tutorial. Explore a repo safely: ask for a map with real paths, bound what you will not touch, then make a small change. Branch first. Keep secrets out of chat. Do not silent-deploy to production.
- 24 How to use skills and scheduled tasks in ChatGPT Codex safely, one at a time Skills, tasks, and scheduled help in ChatGPT Codex are power-ups, not day-one defaults. Climb a complexity ladder, hedge product renames, and never leave high-stakes deploys unattended.
- 25 Why passing tests don’t prove ChatGPT Codex got the code right A passing test only proves the cases it tries. When Codex writes the fix and the test together, check three things: the new test fails without the fix, no old test was weakened, and the test covers the exact case you asked about.
- 26 Git-friendly habits for beginners Part 5 closes the ChatGPT Codex tutorial with beginner git habits: branch per task, small commits, clear messages, PR review, and never force-pushing blind. Learn undo basics, recap the series, and continue to Custom GPTs.
Custom GPTs
- 27 How to make a Custom GPT in ChatGPT for a task you do again and again Part 1 of the Custom GPTs tutorial. Build one simple GPT for a repeating job: clear instructions, no actions yet, non-secret knowledge only, and a Preview test set before you share.
- 28 How to set up a Custom GPT’s instructions, knowledge files, and actions Part 2 of the Custom GPTs tutorial. Structure instructions (role, audience, steps, format, refuse, example), version knowledge files without secrets, and treat actions as a later, higher-risk layer.
- 29 How to share a Custom GPT with your team without causing chaos Share Custom GPTs with one owner, one live version, and clear edit rights. Kill ghost copies before the team trusts disagreeing answers.
- 30 When a Custom GPT is the wrong solution Skip Custom GPTs for one-offs, live systems, secrets, and certified KPIs. Prefer Chat, Work, connectors, or Codex with review when those jobs show up.