Sick and tired of re-prompting the same thing over and over? Bored of providing the same persona, the same context, and the same instructions every single time? Or maybe you’re stuck in a chain-prompting loop, constantly refining your AI’s responses just to get what you need?
I got you covered.
Welcome to Custom GPT’s—your own pre-prompted AI assistant, fine-tuned to make your workflow smoother and more efficient. Instead of starting from scratch every time, your custom GPT already knows what you want.
Want to always sound the same in emails? Just provide your voice and tone once, and your AI will replicate it every time.
Need translations with niche-specific terminology? Set it up once, and your GPT will always get it right.
Wish your AI could just “get” you from the start? No more endless refining—it remembers your preferences and delivers what you need, faster.
Sounds good? Let’s get rolling.
Quick Disclaimer
When I say Custom GPT, I’m talking about the “poor man’s version“—the easy, no-code approach that OpenAI, Gemini, and others let us create through their built-in interfaces. This isn’t about coding a GPT from scratch, but leveraging the existing customization tools to make AI work your way.
What Are Custom GPTs?
A GPT becomes “custom“ when you provide it with specific instructions on how to respond in predefined scenarios. In other words, you teach it how to handle certain tasks, so you don’t have to repeat the same instructions every time.
For example, if you want a GPT to fix your emails and make them sound more professional, you can configure it to do so. Once set up, every time you paste an email, the GPT will automatically refine it—no extra prompting needed.
But you can take it much further. In my agency, we receive a lot of price inquiries that are missing key details—often the same ones, like measurements or quantities. Instead of manually checking each email for missing information, we built a custom GPT that analyzes incoming messages, identifies missing details, and generates a prewritten response in our own writing style, requesting the necessary information. No more repetitive back-and-forth.
Key Benefits of Custom GPT?s
- Personalization – You control the tone, style, and structure of responses.
- Efficiency – No need to repeat the same instructions or rephrase the same prompts.
- Industry-Specific Knowledge – You can teach your GPT niche-specific details, whether it’s key pricing factors, specialized terminology, or internal company processes.
Whether you need a GPT to write emails, generate marketing campaigns, or act as a tutor for new hires, a custom setup can save time, reduce friction, and improve consistency across your workflow.
Why Create a Custom GPT?
Default AI models like ChatGPT, Gemini, and others are designed to be general knowledge models—trained on massive datasets to handle a wide range of tasks. While this is great for broad applications, it means they lack deep expertise in specialized fields unless explicitly trained.
Training an AI model from scratch requires vast amounts of data and immense computational power, which most of us simply don’t have access to. That’s why, out of the box, AI can handle common tasks—like writing a blog post—fairly well, but struggles with more specialized knowledge. If you’re working on something niche, like designing rockets for Mars, a general AI model won’t be much help. But if you feed it specialized information and set clear instructions, it suddenly becomes far more useful.
It All Depends on the Task
For me, I use Custom GPTs for four main things:
- Emails – I want my responses to always sound polished and professional without rewriting the same prompts.
- Amazon Product Descriptions – I have a specific structure and tone I like to use, and I want it to be consistent.
- This Blog – I set the AI to match my writing style, so I don’t have to tweak every response.
- Coding Tutor – I feed it details about my current project, programming languages, and frameworks, so it can assist me in a more relevant way.
In all these cases, I prefer a particular way of doing things, and I don’t want to start with a massive prompt every time just to set the stage. A Custom GPT saves time by always having my tone, background knowledge (like company details), and project-specific information preloaded.
I can even configure it to ask me questions if I forget something in my prompt, making it a true assistant rather than just a passive tool. The time savings alone make setting up a Custom GPT a no-brainer.
The Building Blocks of a Custom GPT
A Custom GPT isn’t just about giving it a few instructions—it’s about structuring the AI to work exactly how you need it. Here are the key components that make up an effective Custom GPT:
1. Personality & Tone
How should your responses sound? The way you communicate can vary depending on who you’re writing to. For emails, you might want two different styles—one professional, one casual.
Instead of manually rewriting each response, you can set up a simple command like:
- “casual:” for a friendly tone.
- “pro:” for a polished, formal tone.
Your Custom GPT will adjust the writing style automatically based on these prompts, and you only have to set it up once.
2. Knowledge Base
A general AI model doesn’t know your company, products, or industry-specific details—unless you provide that knowledge.
Using our email example, if you want your GPT to handle business emails, you can upload documents containing:
- Product details so it can answer inquiries accurately.
- Company information to maintain consistency in communication.
Some AI platforms, like ChatGPT, let you save files in various formats, which your Custom GPT can reference when generating responses. This way, it doesn’t just guess—it pulls from real, relevant information.
3. Instructions & Rules
Here’s where you define specific guidelines to fine-tune your GPT’s behavior.
For example, you can set up rules like:
- “Keep responses short and to the point.”
- “Use bullet points when listing date options in emails.”
- “Never use emojis.”
If you notice recurring issues—like the GPT adding emojis when you don’t want them—you can tweak the instructions once, and the GPT will follow them moving forward.
4. Integrations
This is where things get even more powerful. GPTs can interact with external tools through actions and webhooks, allowing them to:
- Check emails and draft responses.
- Look at your calendar to confirm availability.
- Respond to Slack messages.
Some integrations require technical setup, but if done right, they allow your Custom GPT to become an active assistant, not just a passive tool.
With these four components in place, your Custom GPT goes from being just another AI chatbot to a true productivity booster. The best part? You set it up once, tweak it over time, and save yourself hours of repetitive work.
Want to take it further? Let’s talk about how to create one from scratch.
How to Create Your Own Custom GPT
Creating a Custom GPT is surprisingly simple, and once set up, it can save you a ton of time. Follow these steps to build one that fits your needs.
Step 1: Define Your Use Case
Start by deciding what you want your Custom GPT to do.
- Will it write emails?
- Will it generate blog posts?
- Will it transform long-form content into video outlines?
While a GPT can handle multiple tasks, it works best when it’s focused on one main function and trained to do it as well as possible. Keep it specific.
Step 2: Set Up Your GPT in OpenAI’s Platform
To create your Custom GPT, follow these steps:
- Go to “Explore GPTs” – You’ll find this in the left sidebar at the top.
- Browse existing GPTs – See what others have built. Sometimes, there’s already a GPT that fits your needs.
- Click “Create” (top-right corner) – This is where you start making your own.
Now, you have two options:
- Use the “Builder” GPT – A guided setup where a specialized GPT helps you define your instructions step by step. You describe what you want in plain language, and it builds the GPT for you.
- Manually configure it – If you prefer more control, you can fill out the settings yourself.
Both methods work—you just need to set clear instructions so your GPT knows exactly what to do.
Step 3: Train Your GPT with Instructions & Examples
Regardless of which setup method you choose, you’ll need to teach your GPT how to respond. This is where you:
- Define the voice and tone (e.g., professional, casual, technical).
- Set rules and preferences (e.g., should it use emojis, keep responses short, or always use bullet points?).
- Upload reference documents (e.g., company policies, product details, technical knowledge).
The more specific you are in this step, the better and more consistent your GPT will be.
Step 4: Test and Iterate
On the right side of the setup page, you’ll see a preview window. This is your chance to test it before saving.
- Run different test prompts.
- Try various inputs and see if the GPT responds as expected.
- If something is off, adjust the instructions and test again.
This step takes time, but you only need to do it once. The goal is to fine-tune your GPT until it consistently delivers the right responses.
Step 5: Deploy and Optimize
Once you’re satisfied with your Custom GPT, it’s time to save and deploy. You have three options:
- Private – Only accessible by you.
- Public (by link) – Anyone with the link can use it.
- GPT Store – Fully public and discoverable by anyone.
After saving, your Custom GPT will appear in the left sidebar under its assigned name. Clicking on it opens a dedicated chat window, allowing you to interact with it like a standalone assistant.
Remember, your GPT isn’t set in stone. You can always edit and improve it as you use it. If something doesn’t work as expected, tweak the settings, save, and keep refining it.
With these steps, you now have a fully customized AI assistant ready to handle your tasks more efficiently. Once set up, it’s like having an extra brain that thinks the way you want it to—without all the repetitive prompting.
The Future of Custom GPT’s
Custom GPT’s are not just a novelty—they are becoming a necessity. The ability to tailor AI to specific needs is a game changer, and as more people realize the productivity benefits, their adoption will only accelerate.
The biggest advantage? No more re-prompting the same things over and over. For recurring tasks, this alone is a massive efficiency boost. Instead of treating AI like a one-off tool, Custom GPT’s turn AI into a real, ongoing assistant, fully integrated into daily workflows. This is where we start to see AI moving beyond just “helpful” and into essential territory.
A GPT for Every Business Need
Businesses will find endless ways to use Custom GPT’s, simply because they make too much sense not to:
- On-boarding Assistants – A dedicated AI that answers new hire questions and provides company policies, reducing HR workload.
- E-commerce Chat-bots – Instant, accurate responses to customer inquiries, whether through chat or even voice.
- Sales & Support Agents – AI reps trained specifically on a company’s product catalog and customer interactions.
- Internal Knowledge Hubs – AI assistants that provide instant access to company documents, FAQs, and operational procedures.
The Rise of Private & Local AI Models
Another major shift is the rise of local large language models (LLM’s)—Custom GPT’s that run on private servers, ensuring data security and control. Many businesses hesitate to share sensitive information with cloud-based AI, but with on-premise models, companies will be able to train GPTs on proprietary knowledge while keeping everything in-house.
From Optional to Essential
Right now, Custom GPT’s are still seen as “nice to have.” But as AI integration deepens, they will become standard practice in most industries. Whether it’s automating customer service, enhancing internal workflows, or personalizing user experiences, companies that don’t embrace AI assistants will find themselves at a disadvantage.
Simply put, Custom GPT’s are too useful to ignore.
The future isn’t just AI that generates text—it’s AI that understands your workflow, knows your preferences, and actively helps you work faster and smarter. The businesses and individuals who get ahead of this shift now will be the ones leading the charge in the years to come.
Conclusion
Custom GPT’s are more than just a cool AI feature—they’re a powerful tool that you can shape to fit your exact needs. Think of it as having a dedicated assistant that excels at a specific task, never forgets instructions, and delivers results in seconds.
The possibilities are endless, and we’re only scratching the surface of how businesses and individuals will use Custom GPT’s in the future. Whether it’s automating workflows, improving customer interactions, or streamlining content creation, these AI assistants will become a standard part of work and life.
So, try it yourself. If you’re unsure where to start, use OpenAI’s GPT Builder—it’s a simple way to create a Custom GPT without technical expertise. Test out other people’s GPT’s, get a feel for how they work, and start adapting them to your own needs.
This skill will only become more valuable over time, and every company will look for ways to integrate AI into their operations. Don’t wait—start building today.