How to become a top 1% ChatGPT user

ChatGPT is more than just a tool for answering questions. With the right techniques, it can be a powerful partner in everything from business strategy to creative projects. But the difference between a user and a top 1% user is all about how you interact with the platform. This guide explores tested techniques that will help you level up your ChatGPT experience.

TL;DR - we’ll look at:

1. Creating custom GPTs: Build specialised tools to handle your unique tasks by uploading context, documents, and setting parameters.
2. Leveraging ChatGPT account custom instructions and memory: Customise how ChatGPT interacts with you across all your conversations and tasks.
3. Understanding desktop vs app versions of ChatGPT: Learn the key differences in functionality and when to use each platform.
4. Mastering advanced ChatGPT prompting techniques: Including zero-shot, few-shot, chain-of-thought, and role-based prompting to get more accurate, tailored responses.

Let’s get to it.

1. Creating a custom GPT

The general ChatGPT interface is great for everyday tasks. But when it comes to specialised work, it can fall short. You might find yourself repeating the same context or instructions each time.

With a custom GPT, you teach the model once and from then on, it knows exactly what to do.

It’s a bit like hiring a new copywriter every time you want to draft a new page on your website. For each writer, you’d need to start from scratch: explain the project details, give context about your business and USP, discuss your target audience, go through your brand guidelines and company mission, etc etc. It just wouldn’t make sense.

A custom GPT allows you to upload context-setting knowledge and documents and set certain parameters - the GPT will draw from these every time you interact with it.

Let’s say you’re managing a project. Instead of reminding ChatGPT about deadlines, scope, and communication style each time, a custom GPT remembers those details. It operates within that framework, consistently giving you responses tailored to your needs without having to repeat yourself.

Example uses-cases for GPTs

Just a few examples of where custom GPTs can be useful:

• Project Management: Upload your project timelines, task lists, and relevant documents. Then at any time you can call on the GPT for help with things like:
  • Breaking down large tasks into specific, actionable steps
  • Ensuring the project stays on track by adjusting deadlines if things go off-track
  • Generating progress reports
• Customer Support: Train your GPT with your company’s FAQs and policies, turning it into a reliable assistant for answering customer queries.
• Industry Expertise: Upload industry-specific documents so your GPT can offer insights or advice based on niche knowledge like legal guidelines or technical regulations.
• Content Creation: Ideal if you create similar content again and again. Upload past examples and set specific instructions, so the GPT only needs a simple prompt to produce an expected and guaranteed output.
• Agency Services: Agencies that provide services like digital marketing, growth, SEO, content, social media, PR etc, can train a custom GPT for each different client. They can then call on that GPT for things like strategy advice, reports, campaign planning, competitor analysis and more.

Tips for training a GPT

1. Be specific.
   ‍When you’re setting up a custom GPT, specificity is key. Give it detailed instructions about what success looks like and what to avoid. If you’re in finance, you might want it to always reference financial models or stick to formal language in reports.
2. Give it a role.
   Think of your GPT as part of your team. What role would you give it? Project manager? Marketing strategist? Customer support lead? Assigning a role helps focus its output and ensures that its answers are relevant to the job.
3. Leverage knowledge bases.
   If there are documents or guidelines that your GPT needs to know, upload them. This could be anything from internal documentation to industry research papers to just a continuous stream of consciousness you’ve been writing. When ChatGPT can reference these, its answers will reflect your specific business or field, making it far more effective.
4. Keep refining.
   Building a custom GPT is not a one-off task. Once you start using it, you’ll discover areas where it can improve. Regularly tweaking its instructions, uploading new knowledge, and adjusting its behaviour will mean it continues to meet your evolving needs.

2. Leveraging your ChatGPT account custom instructions and memory

Creating a custom GPT is a powerful way to build a specialised tool for specific tasks. But what if you want to shape how ChatGPT behaves across all your interactions? You can set custom instructions for ChatGPT at an account level, that define how ChatGPT interacts with you regardless of the task at hand.

Think of it as setting up the rules of engagement, whether you’re using ChatGPT for business strategy, brainstorming, or casual Q&A. It helps ensure that every response is aligned with your preferences, without needing to start from scratch every time.

How custom instructions work

The interface to customise ChatGPT is simple, but it can have a big impact on the way you interact with the model. From the desktop/web version, click your initials in the top-right corner of ChatGPT then click ‘Customize ChatGPT’.

Then, there are 2 fields to configure in the pop-up window:

What would you like ChatGPT to know about you to provide better responses?‍

This is where you can give ChatGPT context about who you are and what you’re working on. How nuanced you go here will depend on your role and why you’re using ChatGPT.

If you’re a product manager, for example, you could mention your ongoing projects, your industry, and any specific goals you’re focusing on. If you use ChatGPT for more creative writing tasks, you might tell it about your personality: your hobbies, preferences, writers you’re inspired by, etc. If you’re a business owner, use this space to give context about how you lead, any challenges you often face, your weaknesses and strengths, your daily schedule, the members of your team and more.

By setting these details, ChatGPT tailors its responses to suit your role, offering suggestions that are more aligned with your situation, workflows and objectives.‍

How would you like ChatGPT to respond?

This field allows you to customise the tone, format, and style of ChatGPT’s responses. Ask yourself: what is the output I want from ChatGPT? Maybe you need a formal tone for drafting reports, or a more conversational tone for brainstorming. This section lets you control how ChatGPT interacts with you.

Beyond tone, you might also consider using this section to use ChatGPT as a collaborative partner. If you know you tend to fall into the same bad habits, for example, instruct ChatGPT to challenge you on those or help you avoid them.‍

ChatGPT memory

As ChatGPT responds and interacts with you, over time it will expand its memory bank. This is similar but different from custom instructions.

Custom instructions are customisable and you can control them. Memory is updated by ChatGPT and you cannot add to it, but you can delete memories. Here’s how:

1. From the desktop browser version, as you’re chatting with ChatGPT you may see it flag ‘Memory updated’ within your chat. Hover over this and you’ll see the option to ‘Manage memories’.

2. Click it and the memory bank will open. You can delete any individual memories here, or clear ChatGPT’s entire memory (not recommended!).

3. You can also click your initials in the top-right corner, click Settings > Personalization and manage the memories from there.

4. You can manage memories from the mobile app too. Click your icon/initials in the bottom left corner, then click ‘Personalization’. Click ‘Manage memory’ and you can edit the memories or clear the entire bank as above.

3. Understanding desktop vs app versions of ChatGPT

Both the desktop and app versions of ChatGPT offer powerful functionality. But there are some notable differences that can impact how you use the platform depending on where you’re accessing it. Whether you're on the go or at your desk, understanding the strengths and limitations of each can help you maximise your ChatGPT experience.

1. Voice note feature (app exclusive)

The voice feature on the ChatGPT mobile app is a standout feature. It’s especially useful when you’re on the move because it lets you ask ChatGPT questions or give it commands without typing.

There are two ways use voice in the ChatGPT mobile app:

• ‍Microphone: This is just a way of speaking your query instead of typing it. Tap the microphone icon next to the text bar and say what you want out loud. ChatGPT will transcribe your voice and generate a response. Handy for quick brainstorming or problem-solving when typing isn’t practical or speaking out loud is more convenient. Especially good if you tend to waffle and want to talk for a long time - but careful not to talk on for too long or the AI won’t be able to transcribe the volume of words. We find no more than 2 minutes of continuous speech works well.
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• Voice mode: Tap the headphones icon next to the microphone icon to turn on voice mode. You can talk, and ChatGPT will listen and respond via voice too. This is especially useful when you’re on the move, or if you want to feel like you’re having a conversation with someone versus a computer.

ChatGPT’s voice feature is ideal for:

• Multitasking - whether you’re driving, exercising, or in situations where you can’t sit down and type.
• Capturing fleeting thoughts or ideas you might otherwise forget.
• Brainstorming - when you have big ideas but struggle to type them out.

2. User interface and features

While both platforms allow you to interact with ChatGPT, the user interface on desktop offers a bit more space for complex interactions, like reviewing long conversations, managing documents, or using the platform for detailed tasks such as drafting reports or coding. The layout generally makes it easier to handle bigger projects or long-form content.‍

• ‍Desktop: When working on research, creating content, or reviewing documents, the desktop interface gives you a clearer overview. You can more easily scroll through previous interactions, copy and paste long text, or upload documents for ChatGPT to reference.‍
• Mobile app: Designed for quick, on-the-go access.  If you need to quickly ask for a recommendation, summarise a meeting, or generate a response while you’re between appointments, the app is your go-to.

3. Syncing conversations

Whether you’re using the desktop or the app, your conversations are synced across both platforms. This means you can start a conversation on your desktop, then pick it up on your phone while commuting, and continue the conversation seamlessly.

4. Limitations of the mobile app

While the app is great for quick tasks and voice interactions, there are certain tasks where the desktop version still reigns supreme. For example, more complex projects involving multiple documents or intricate research are easier to manage with the larger screen and additional functionality of the desktop version.

Tasks like coding, creating detailed reports, or anything requiring in-depth interaction with long texts are better suited for the desktop version, where you have more room to navigate between documents, conversations, and inputs.

You also can’t set your account custom instructions from the mobile app, or create custom GPTs.

4. Mastering advanced prompting techniques

Getting ChatGPT to do what you want often comes down to how well you phrase your prompts. Sure, you can ask basic questions and get helpful answers. But mastering advanced prompting techniques is what separates regular users from power users. The difference? Power users know how to guide ChatGPT in ways that make its responses more precise, useful, and aligned with complex tasks.

Here are a few techniques to level up your prompting game:

1. Prompt engineering with constraints

This technique is about setting specific limits or guidelines for ChatGPT's responses. You might need the response to be in bullet points, under a certain word count, or written in a particular style. By setting these constraints, you can refine the output to meet exact specifications.‍

• ‍Example: “Proofread this article but don’t make any changes. Instead list the original line and your suggestion in pairs of bullet points with <30 word explanation of each change.”‍
• Example: “Summarise this article in 100 words using bullet points.”‍
• Best for: Tasks where clarity, brevity, or a specific format is required.‍‍

2. Few-shot prompting

Few-shot prompting involves providing ChatGPT with a few examples of what you're looking for. This technique is ideal when you want more control over the style, tone, or structure of the response. By giving examples, you teach ChatGPT the format or style you expect.‍

• ‍Example: “Here are three subject lines for marketing emails. Can you write five more in the same style?”‍
• Best for: Tasks that require a specific format, such as writing, summarising, or generating ideas that align with a particular tone or framework.

3. Chain-of-Thought prompting

Chain-of-Thought (CoT) prompting asks ChatGPT to think through a problem and demonstrate it’s reasoning. It can be a useful approach when you want to:

• Elicit comprehensive responses that cover all necessary components of a task or problem.
• Guide the AI to approach problems using preferred strategies or frameworks, which can be tailored to your organisation's methodologies.

There are two distinct types of CoT prompting:‍

• ‍Step-by-Step CoT prompting: The goal is to encourage the AI to reveal its reasoning process step by step as it works through a problem. Essentially it’s asking the AI to "think out loud," sharing its internal thought process to arrive at a conclusion.
  Example: “Our company needs to choose between two software vendors for our new CRM system. Vendor A offers a lower price but fewer features, while Vendor B is more expensive but has comprehensive functionalities. Please think through this decision step by step to determine which vendor we should select.”

• ‍CoT-Inspired prompting: This approach subtly guides the AI to follow a specific reasoning process by embedding a preferred workflow or approach within the prompt, without directly instructing it to list steps.
  Example: “Effective process improvement involves identifying inefficiencies, analyzing root causes, and implementing strategic changes. With this in mind, how can we enhance our customer service response time?”

4. Context-aware prompting

Context-aware prompting involves referencing previous interactions or giving ChatGPT background information so it can respond more intelligently. Instead of starting every conversation from scratch, you can instruct ChatGPT to take into account what you’ve already discussed earlier in an existing chat.‍

• ‍Example: “Can you remember what we’ve been talking about up until now and what your recommendations were?”‍
• Example: “List each message in this chat as a bullet point with <15 words with User and ChatGPT speaker tags to create a recap of our work/discussion together.”‍
• Best for: Long conversations where you want ChatGPT to keep track of key points and provide responses that build on prior discussions.

5. Role-based prompting

Role-based prompting is when you ask ChatGPT to take on a specific role during your conversation - or you give it specifics about your role and what you need. This technique helps you get more relevant, targeted advice.

• ‍Example: “I am a product marketer looking to create a go-to-market strategy for X. Act as my manager, and lay out the steps I need to take to create the strategy.”‍
• Example: “Act as a financial advisor. Help me create a budget for the next quarter, factoring in expenses, revenue streams, and potential growth areas.”‍
• Best for: Situations where you need targeted, expert-like advice.

Combining techniques for optimal results

While each of these techniques can be used on its own, the real magic happens when you combine them. For instance, you might start with a few-shot prompt to set the tone, then use chain-of-thought prompting to guide ChatGPT through a complex process, and finally apply constraints to ensure the output is concise and actionable.

Combining these techniques helps you get more precise, actionable results that are perfectly tailored to your needs.

By following these techniques, you’ll get closer to becoming a top 1% ChatGPT power user. Mastering ChatGPT is about much more than just asking better questions - it’s about taking control of how ChatGPT works for you. Try out these power techniques and watch your ChatGPT experience transform.