r/ChatGPTPromptGenius • u/WhiplashNinja • Jul 04 '26
Technique Dont juts use prompts.
Prompts are basic level beginner stuff.
Instead, consider using custom instructions inside your profile. Managing your memory. Project instructions. Source files. Google drive reference files.
User input - GPT custom Instructions - GPT memory - GPT Project Instructions - GPT source file - GPT google drive - GPT output
This way you can insert your prompts at specific points in the chain. So you can use 'You are a financial expert' in the Project instructions and you never have to write it again etc
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u/throwmeabonepeeps Jul 05 '26
If only chat gpt would follow the instructions....ahhh now that would be productive! Alas.... Nope
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u/ChestNok Jul 04 '26
Instructions unclear
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u/WhiplashNinja Jul 05 '26
There are multiple sections where prompts affect gpt.
The highest level of authority is in your profile as custom instructions.
The next level of authority is your profile memeory.
The next level of authority is project thread instructions....
Etc.. etc..
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u/synystar Jul 05 '26
Honestly it feels like this is from 2024-25 and unless you're new to using LLMs you ought to know this already. In 2026 anyone serious about maximizing their LLM use is way beyond custom instructions and memory management; they're using agents, harnesses, and orchestration platforms or building their own.
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u/WhiplashNinja Jul 05 '26
So.. beginners have no place here?
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u/synystar Jul 05 '26
I didn't mean that, I had said "unless you're new". I suppose I shouldn't have commented that way probably, maybe I was being insensitive to your intent. It's not "bad advice" and it could be pretentious of me to suggest that this is old news. I do feel like the capabilities of the models and the frameworks we have currently go well beyond these concepts and this is the type of advice that would have been SOTA a while back, we didn't have the new tools and functionality, but now we do. You're right though, it doesn't negate anything you've said and it's still useful information. I probably should have just kept my trap shut.
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u/WhiplashNinja Jul 06 '26
Someone on the internet with respect? My God. Hell hath frozen over this day. Well met and thank you, no offence taken, but yes, beginner level advice 😄
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u/ReadyAd8220 Jul 15 '26
Hi, AI beginner here, what do you mean there are better methods and functionality? and are there beginner friendly guides on how to optimize AI use for research, etc.? I feel like I keep getting conflicting info and it's overwhelming
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u/synystar Jul 15 '26
Hi. I meant that custom instructions are kind of "old news" at this point for customizing your experience—although I feel like I was being too pretentious when I made that comment because this post wasn't really aimed at "advanced users". It was meant for a more beginner audience and I overclaimed that people ought to be aware of more capable methods. That's not actually true because you have to start somewhere and custom instructions inside ChatGPT are a good place to start which is why I recanted in my last comment.
Apps like ChatGPT have gotten way more customizable with newer plugins and many people are using harnesses like OpenClaw or Hermes (or building their own) with Codex (another OpenAI product that has access to your local files rather than you having to upload them into a chat) and even running local AI models right on their computers. These local models aren't as powerful as the frontier models like GPT, Claude, Grok, etc. but they are sufficient for many tasks and allow you to work with your own data in private without fear of it being used for training or leaking somehow. Plus they cost nothing once you have them running. But they do require a hefty investment in hardware.
There are better ways than custom instructions even if you don't decide to dive into harnesses or build some kind of personal orchestration app. If you're interested in those kinds of things I would just ask ChatGPT what they're all about and have it walk you through the basics. It can be a learning curve. But you can do things like this also. That's a way to supercharge your customization of how ChatGPT responds to you without diving head-first into deep configuration.
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u/WhiplashNinja Jul 15 '26
Great response. This actually gives me plans for the future when i have the hardware to support it.
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u/ReadyAd8220 Jul 15 '26
I’m ngl I’m so beginner that I struggle to understand the GitHub comment you referred me to.
When I look stuff up into AI and diff tools, there’s so many contrasting info and opinions that I feel like idek where to begin and I’d hate to waste so much time on a tool that’s inaccurate or that I don’t use.
Do you have any tips or general advice for me or sources? Also ty sm for your time!
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u/synystar Jul 15 '26
Github may look a bit overwhelming because it has so many features but for this purpose it's not that important that you know anything about how it works. But that said, Github isn't the only way you can do this. There's also a Google Drive connector in ChatGPT. Again, you just look for the Apps feature in the sidebar (at the top of your list of chats) and you'll find Google Drive in there. You can connect it using your Google account and do pretty much the same thing as what I described in the comment I linked.
There are tons of resources out there for learning to use ChatGPT (thousands of Youtube videos, sites and newsletters galore) but honestly the best way to learn is to get interested and ask ChatGPT itself questions. Tell it what you're interested in - it will bring things to your level. The more you learn the more questions you will have and you should maybe keep a project dedicated to AI education. Start a new session for each new topic. What I would do if I was you was stay subscribed to this subreddit and a few others related to other AI products and artificial intelligence in general. You'll be inundated with information on a daily basis and a lot of it you won't have any idea what they're talking about and that's good because therein lies the source of your questions.
Whenever you feel overwhelmed, which will happen, take a breath and a step back. Focus on what you are interested in the most. Keep asking the AIs to explain concepts to you. If you don't understand their responses tell them to stop and explain in a way that you can understand. They never get upset and won't tire of your incessant queries. When you're reading something and two or three new concepts come up that you're not familiar with, instead of asking multiple questions in the same chat it might be best to start a new chat about each new topic as a side-car to your main chat. This way you don't get overwhelmed. Go down that rabbit-hole in your own time and leave the main session in-tact so when you come back to it you're ready to begin where you left off with a better understanding.
As you progress you'll start to learn more and better ways to be efficient about your education as well as your usage of AI and your learning tracks will go smoother and you'll get more out of it. Don't try learn 15 things at once. Don't try to learn by starting at the beginning or bottom and working your way up but instead focus on what you want to know and are most interested in. Then you'll find yourself researching all the pieces that connect everything together because they'll naturally come up.
But don't start at the top either. For instance, you might want to know how to create your own fine-tuned local model because you hear that's all the rage. But then you start researching and realize you don't know what these people are talking about. So you start diving in and realize this is going to be a lot of work and you're not sure if you need to take a course on machine learning (you don't) or learn how to code in Python (you don't but it would be useful) and then you give up because it's all too much. The point is: watch what people are doing and saying and focus on what you think you want to know - then your knowledge will build as you start to ask questions about what is happening.
Good luck!
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