Projects and workspaces

In short

Projects and workspaces are ways of stopping every AI chat from landing in one pile. A project keeps one job's files, instructions and chats together. A workspace is the separate account an organisation runs.

Also called: ChatGPT Projects, Claude Projects, Workspace
Topic: Using AI tools
Level: Beginner
First described: Anthropic, 25 June 2024, in "Collaborate with Claude on Projects", first for Claude Pro and Team customers¹.

A project is a container for one ongoing piece of work. Anthropic added Projects to Claude on 25 June 2024, for Pro and Team customers. Each project gathered chats, uploaded documents and instructions that apply to every chat inside it, so Claude was not starting from a blank page. Anthropic's current help centre says projects are now open to free accounts as well, with a cap of five. On paid plans, when the uploaded knowledge nears the context limit, Claude can turn on retrieval and expand that capacity by up to ten times. On Team and Enterprise plans a project can be shared, with permission to view or to edit¹².

ChatGPT uses the same idea. OpenAI's help centre calls projects smart workspaces for a long-running effort: chats, uploaded files, and instructions that apply only inside that project and that override your global custom instructions. The project remembers the chats and files in it. Projects are available on free and paid plans worldwide. An update dated 22 October 2025 says sharing is available to Free, Plus, Pro and Go users, not only business plans. People you invite get chat access or edit access. On the Pro plan a shared project can hold up to 40 files and 100 collaborators. A chat that was started inside a custom GPT cannot be moved into a project³.

A workspace is the layer above that. OpenAI describes a ChatGPT Enterprise workspace as the organisation's own environment: members, billing and security in one place, and conversations, custom GPTs and files kept apart from personal use. Enterprise data is opted out of model training by default. If you have a personal workspace and an Enterprise one, switching changes which chats you see. It does not copy them. Some employers require you to merge the personal workspace in when you join, and that merge cannot be undone⁴.

They change what the chatbot is allowed to see, and who else can see it. Claude's project knowledge is there so you stop re-uploading the same brief. ChatGPT's project instructions are there so you stop repeating the tone you want. The organisation's workspace is there so work files are not mixed with a personal account²³⁴.

Example

Three people planning a product launch keep the brief, an instruction to be concise and use bullet points, and earlier drafts in one ChatGPT project. The next chat already has that material, and they do not paste it again³.

Why it matters

Without a project, every chat starts cold. Without a separate workspace, work files sit in the same account as personal ones. These features draw that line.

Questions people ask

Is a ChatGPT project the same as a custom GPT?

No. A project is a place for chats, files and instructions about one ongoing job. OpenAI's help centre says a chat created with a custom GPT cannot be moved into a project. Project instructions also override your global custom instructions, and they apply only inside that project³.

What is a ChatGPT workspace?

On Enterprise, it is your organisation's own environment inside ChatGPT: members, billing and security, with chats, files and custom GPTs kept separate from personal use. Data there is opted out of model training by default. Switching workspace does not copy chats across. A required merge of a personal workspace cannot be undone⁴.

Are Claude projects free?

Yes, with a limit. Anthropic's help centre says every account, including free ones, can create projects, and free accounts can have at most five. The larger retrieval mode, which can expand project knowledge by up to ten times, is only on paid plans. Sharing is for Team and Enterprise².

Do I have to repeat instructions in every project chat?

No. In Claude and in ChatGPT, instructions you set on the project apply to the chats inside it. In ChatGPT they override your global custom instructions. Files you upload to the project are available across those chats, so you do not attach the same brief every time²³.

Related terms

Tools that use it

Sources

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