What is a project in ChatGPT, Claude or Copilot, and how should we use them?
November 2026
The short answer
A project is a folder for one piece of work inside your AI assistant. It holds the files, the instructions and all the chats about that work, so the AI already has the background every time you open it.
Projects versus skills
These get mixed up. A skill is how you do a task, and it is reused across lots of work. A project is about one piece of work: a client, a tender, a product launch, a policy review. A project can use skills.
Where you will find them
ChatGPT and Claude both have Projects. Microsoft is rolling Projects out in Copilot this month, alongside skills and the new Copilot Home. The names and limits differ, but the idea is the same.
How to set one up properly
- One project per piece of work. Not one per person, and not one for everything.
- Add the documents that matter: the brief, the contract, the latest version. Remove old versions, or the AI will use them.
- Write short instructions at the top: who it is for, the goal, the tone, what to check.
- Share it with the people working on it, so everyone starts from the same background.
- Close or archive it when the work is done.
What to watch
Anything in a shared project can be seen by everyone it is shared with. Do not put files in a project that not everyone on it should see, and check where your assistant stores project files if the work involves personal information.