12 Custom GPT Examples for Small Businesses, With Setup Notes

Don't build new custom GPTs: OpenAI stops running them on 11 December 2026, and personal ChatGPT plans can no longer create them. The twelve assistants small businesses most often built as GPTs now belong in ChatGPT Projects, Claude Projects or Gemini Gems (becoming skills from November 2026), each set up with instructions, a few reference files and shared access.

If you already rely on a GPT, OpenAI's official replacement is a plugin: the GPT's instructions become a skill inside the plugin, and its knowledge files become reference files. That route suits business workspaces, but most small teams get there faster by rebuilding in a Project, which works on Plus as well as business plans. Google is making a similar move of its own: Gems are being converted into skills, in March 2027 for Workspace business accounts.

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For prices, all as list prices in USD: ChatGPT Plus is $20 a month and ChatGPT Business $20-$25 a seat; Claude Pro is $20 a month and Claude Team $20-$25 a seat; Gemini comes with Google Workspace plans, about $14 a user a month on Business Standard. Anything involving client, patient or pupil details belongs on the business versions, which don't train on your content by default.

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What happens to the GPTs you already use

OpenAI's retirement and migration FAQ sets out the timeline and the mechanics. Existing GPTs keep working until 11 December 2026 (11 February 2027 for Enterprise workspaces with an approved deferral), after which the GPTs and their pages become inaccessible. When migration is available for your account, the creator goes to My GPTs and selects Migrate to plugin. What moves and what doesn't:

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• Moves: the latest published instructions (as a skill), knowledge files (copied to reference files), and connected apps.
• Doesn't move: drafts and unpublished edits, the GPT's selected model, existing conversations, sharing settings, and custom actions, which need rebuilding through a supported app or a custom MCP server.
• Afterwards: the original GPT becomes read-only and its creator can't delete it; the new plugin starts private, so nobody else can use it until you share it.

There's a plan catch. OpenAI lists skills for eligible Business, Enterprise, Healthcare and Edu users, and plugin creation through Plugin Creator in supported Business and Enterprise workspaces. A sole trader on Plus who built a GPT years ago should rebuild it as a Project instead. OpenAI's own advice before migrating applies either way: save a few familiar prompts so you can compare the replacement's answers with the original's. Whatever you rebuild, the privacy questions don't change, and whether custom GPTs are private covers what happened to the files you uploaded.

Choosing between a Project, a Gem and a skill

Two differences matter more than the rest. ChatGPT and Claude Projects keep a shared history of chats, which suits ongoing work such as a stream of enquiries. Gems and skills are more like reusable tools you call up when needed. And for Claude users on Google Workspace, Drive files can only be added to private projects, not shared ones, so shared Claude projects need their files uploaded. Custom GPT vs Claude Project vs Gemini Gem compares the three in more depth.

Two platform changes are worth knowing before you build. Google is replacing Gems with skills: reusable instructions you call up by typing / in any Gemini chat, or that Gemini applies automatically when relevant, with up to 100 active at once. Support for Gems ends in November 2026 for personal Google accounts, March 2027 for Workspace business accounts and June 2027 for education accounts, and existing Gems are recreated as skills automatically. Skills are available to personal accounts now and are coming to work accounts, so a Workspace business building today builds a Gem and lets Google convert it. On the Claude side, Projects are available on every plan, including Free (up to five projects), but custom project instructions need a paid plan, so the Claude examples below assume Pro or Team.

The twelve at a glance

Each takes 30 to 60 minutes to set up if the files already exist, and most of that time goes on writing the instructions and testing five or six real prompts. The platform choice follows where the team already works: a practice that lives in Google Workspace gets Gems, which Google will convert into skills, a team already paying for ChatGPT Business gets Projects, and Claude earns its place where long documents or careful writing dominate.

Moving a GPT's knowledge files without losing anything

A GPT could hold up to 20 knowledge files of up to 512MB each, so almost any GPT's files fit in a Plus Project (25 files) or a Business Project (40). The move itself is simple, but it's the best chance you'll get to clear out stale material:

1. List the files in the GPT's editor and note the date each was last updated. Anything older than a year needs checking before it goes anywhere.
2. Replace, don't copy, anything superseded. Old price lists are the most common cause of wrong answers, and a rebuild that carries them over repeats the mistake.
3. Split long PDFs by topic. A 60-page manual works better as five focused documents with clear titles.
4. Put dates in file names, such as "price-list-2026-10.pdf", so whoever maintains the assistant can see at a glance what's current.
5. Move rules into instructions. If a file contains "always" or "never" statements, lift them into the instructions, where the assistant treats them as rules rather than background reading.

If you use OpenAI's migration instead, the knowledge files are copied into the plugin's reference files for you. The same clean-up is still worth doing first, because migration uses the GPT's latest published version and makes the original read-only afterwards.

Front-desk assistants

1. Enquiry replies for a dental practice (ChatGPT Project)

The most common GPT a practice built was an enquiry replier. Rebuild it as a Project in the practice's ChatGPT Business workspace, owned by the practice manager, with the two receptionists given chat access so they can use it but not change the instructions.

Set-up. Instructions: "Draft replies to patient enquiries using only the price list and FAQ. Quote prices exactly as listed, with 'from' where the list says so. Never give clinical advice or promise appointment times; offer a call back instead. Sign off from the reception team." Files: the current price list, the new-patient FAQ, and a page on opening hours and parking.

Draft a reply: "How much is a hygienist visit and can I get in
before the weekend? I've got a bit of a sore gum too."

Hi [first name], thanks for getting in touch. A hygienist visit
is from $[price from list]. As you've mentioned a sore gum, our
team will call you today to talk it through and find the right
appointment; we can check availability before the weekend then.
Best wishes, the reception team

What a person checks: that the price matches the list that's current this month, and that the draft didn't slip in advice about the sore gum. This one handled the symptom correctly by offering a call, which is exactly what the instructions asked for.

2. Review replies for a veterinary practice (ChatGPT Project)

Review replies look harmless, but a practice that confirms someone is a client, or discusses an animal's treatment in public, can breach confidentiality. A Project with firm rules takes that judgement out of a rushed moment. Patient reviews and AI replies explains the confidentiality line in more detail.

Set-up. Instructions: "Draft replies to online reviews in under 80 words. Thank the reviewer. Never confirm that they are a client, never mention an animal or treatment, and invite them to contact the practice manager directly about anything specific." Files: five approved example replies and a summary of the complaints procedure. Shared with the practice manager and the reception lead only.

Review: "Waited 40 minutes and the vet rushed Bella's check-up.
Not impressed." Draft a reply.

Thank you for taking the time to share this. We're sorry to hear
your experience fell short of what you expect from us. Our
practice manager would welcome the chance to talk it through
properly; please get in touch on [contact details].

What a person checks: no pet names, no clinical details, no admission that the person visited. A human posts every reply; the Project drafts, it never publishes.

3. Fee questions for a tutoring agency (ChatGPT Project)

Billing questions repeat endlessly and depend on policy wording, which makes them ideal for a shared Project with the fee policy attached. Keep it in ChatGPT Business, since the conversations include parents' names and account details.

Set-up. Instructions: "Answer parents' billing questions using only the fee and cancellation policies. Quote the relevant rule in plain English. Never agree a discount, refund or exception: say the director will reply personally." Files: fee policy, cancellation policy, invoice schedule. Shared with the two administrators with chat access.

Parent: "My son missed two sessions last week because he was ill.
Do I still have to pay for them?"

Thanks for letting us know, and we hope he's feeling better.
Under our cancellation policy, sessions cancelled with at least
24 hours' notice aren't charged; late cancellations for illness
are charged at half the session fee. If there's anything
particular about last week, [director's name] will be happy to
look at it personally.

What a person checks: that the quoted rule matches the policy (the 24-hour and half-fee terms above are this illustration's, not a recommendation), and that any request for an exception goes to the director rather than being answered.

4. Parent newsletter for a nursery (Gem, becoming a skill)

A nursery on Google Workspace can build this as a Gem, with its term dates and style guide added from Drive. Gems use the latest version of a Drive file, so when the term dates change, the Gem picks them up without anyone editing it.

Set-up. Instructions: "Write the fortnightly parent newsletter from the room leaders' notes. Warm, plain English, under 400 words, with three sections: What we've been learning, Dates for your diary, Reminders. Never name individual children." Files from Drive: term dates document and newsletter style guide. Shared with the three room leaders as viewers and kept editable by the manager. Remember that viewers can see a Gem's instructions and files, so nothing sensitive goes in.

Notes: Butterflies room - planting sunflowers, counting songs.
Caterpillars - autumn leaf collages. Reminder: named wellies.
Stay-and-play 14th, 10am. Photo day moved to the 21st.

Dear families, autumn has well and truly arrived! In Butterflies,
the children have planted sunflower seeds and are practising
counting songs... Dates for your diary: Stay-and-play on the
14th at 10am; photo day is now on the 21st... Reminders: please
label wellies with your child's name.

What a person checks: every date against the term calendar, and that no child is named or identifiable. The Gem will be converted into a skill automatically when Google retires Gems for Workspace accounts in March 2027; check the converted version then.

Back-office assistants

5. Supplier quote comparison for a dental practice (ChatGPT skill)

Some GPTs were really workflows: paste three quotes, get a comparison. In a ChatGPT Business workspace that's what skills are for, because a skill can be used from any chat rather than inside one Project. Create it by asking ChatGPT to build a skill, or from Plugins, then the Skills tab, then Create.

Set-up. Instructions inside the skill: "When given supplier quotes, build a table: item, unit price, pack size, price per unit, delivery charge, delivery time, payment terms. Flag any item where the cheapest price per unit comes with slower delivery than 5 working days. Don't recommend a supplier; list trade-offs." Reference file: the approved supplier list. Shared with the practice manager and the lead nurse.

Compare these three quotes for nitrile gloves and bibs:
[pasted quotes from three suppliers]

Item          Supplier  Price/unit  Delivery   Terms
Gloves (M)    A         $0.041      2 days     30 days
Gloves (M)    B         $0.036      7 days     14 days  FLAG
Bibs          A         $0.052      2 days     30 days
Trade-off: B is cheapest on gloves but slower and on shorter
payment terms.

What a person checks: the unit maths on one line by hand (pack sizes are where these go wrong), and that every quote was actually read; a quote pasted as an image may need re-typing.

6. Handbook answers for a language school (Gem, becoming a skill)

Staff ask the same handbook questions every term. A Gem that answers only from the handbook, with the section number, saves the office manager dozens of interruptions and keeps answers consistent between staff.

Set-up. Instructions: "Answer staff questions using only the attached handbook and policies. Quote the section number. If the answer isn't in them, reply 'Not covered in the handbook: please ask [office manager]'." Files from Drive: staff handbook, holiday policy, expenses policy. Shared with the whole organisation as viewers, which Workspace admins can allow or block through Drive sharing settings. The HR folder with individual records is deliberately not attached.

How much notice do I need to give for holiday in August?

Section 4.2 of the handbook says holiday requests need four
weeks' notice, and requests for August must be made by 1 June
because of summer-school staffing. For anything outside that,
please ask [office manager].

What a person checks: spot-check three answers a month against the handbook, and make sure the "Not covered" reply appears when it should. An assistant that invents a policy is worse than none.

7. Job adverts for a physiotherapy clinic (Claude Project)

Hiring is occasional, so a Project that holds the clinic's advert template, pay bands and interview question bank saves starting from scratch each time. Claude is a good fit for careful, plain writing.

Set-up. Instructions: "Write job adverts from our template. List essential and desirable requirements separately. Use the salary range and hours exactly as given. Avoid wording that implies an age, gender or other personal characteristic. Then suggest six interview questions tied to the essential requirements." Files: advert template, two past adverts, the interview question bank. On Claude Team, shared with the clinic manager and clinical lead with edit permission.

Receptionist, 30 hours a week, Mon-Fri, $[range]. Must know a
booking system, calm on the phone. Nice to have: first aid.

Receptionist (30 hours, Monday to Friday) - $[range]
You'll be the first person our patients speak to...
Essential: experience with an appointment booking system;
confident, calm phone manner...
Desirable: a current first aid certificate.
Interview questions: 1. Tell us about a time you handled a
double-booked appointment...

What a person checks: salary and hours copied exactly, and a read for phrases like "young, energetic team", which the instructions exist to prevent. The questions should test the essentials and nothing else.

8. Outing risk assessments for a nursery (ChatGPT Project)

Drafting a risk assessment for a park trip from the nursery's own template is slow, and a draft generated from past assessments is a real time-saver. The assessment itself remains the manager's responsibility; the Project only fills the template.

Set-up. Instructions: "Draft outing risk assessments in our template's columns: hazard, who's at risk, controls, residual risk. Use our ratio policy exactly as written. Mark anything you're unsure of as 'MANAGER TO CHECK'." Files: blank template, three past assessments, the ratio and outings policy. A nursery on individual Plus accounts can share this Project with up to 10 collaborators; the manager keeps edit access.

Outing: 8 pre-schoolers to the park by the river, 45 minutes,
walking, 3 staff. Weather forecast: dry, windy.

Hazard: water's edge by the river path | Who: children |
Controls: route avoids the riverside path; one adult at the
front, one at the back, one floating | Residual: low
Hazard: wind - falling branches | Controls: avoid tree cover
near the play area | Residual: MANAGER TO CHECK

What a person checks: every line, and the staffing ratio against the nursery's policy. This is the example where the "MANAGER TO CHECK" rule earns its place.

Teaching, care and content assistants

9. Aftercare notes for a veterinary practice (Claude Project)

Owners go home with instructions they half-remember. A Project that turns a vet's shorthand into a clear aftercare sheet, in the practice's own template, saves time at discharge and cuts follow-up calls.

Set-up. Instructions: "Turn the vet's notes into an aftercare sheet for the owner in our template. Plain English, short numbered steps. Copy any medicine name, dose and timing exactly from the notes; never calculate or change them. End with when to call us." Files: aftercare template and ten approved examples. On Claude Team, shared with the vets with view permission and the head nurse with edit.

Dog, 4y, dental, 3 extractions. Soft food 5 days. Meds as
prescribed: [medicine and dose from notes]. Check gums daily.
Call if not eating by tomorrow evening.

Caring for your dog after dental surgery
1. Feed soft food only for the next 5 days...
2. Give [medicine and dose exactly as prescribed]...
3. Look at the gums once a day...
Call us if your dog hasn't eaten by tomorrow evening.

What a person checks: the medication line, against the prescription, every time. The instruction to copy doses exactly exists because drafting tools can "tidy" numbers.

10. Progress reports for a tutoring agency (ChatGPT Project)

Termly reports were a popular GPT, and they rebuild neatly as a Project with the agency's rubric and a few strong example reports attached. How tutoring centres write parent progress reports with AI goes further into the report format itself.

Set-up. Instructions: "Write a 120-word progress report from the tutor's notes: one strength, one area to work on, one next step. Encouraging but honest. Use the scores exactly as given. Never compare the pupil with others." Files: report rubric and three example reports. In ChatGPT Business, shared with all tutors with chat access; the director keeps edit access.

Pupil: [first name]. Maths. Test 68% (last term 55%). Strong on
fractions now. Still rushes word problems. Next: two worded
problems a week with the working shown.

[First name] has made clear progress this term, moving from 55%
to 68% on the end-of-term test. Fractions are now a real
strength... The next step is to slow down on word problems:
two a week, with every step of the working written out...

What a person checks: the scores, and that the report reads like this tutor's pupil rather than a generic one. If every report starts "has made clear progress", add a line to the instructions asking for varied openings.

11. Lesson plans for a language school (Claude Project)

Teachers built GPTs for lesson plans more than for anything else. A Claude Project holding the syllabus and level descriptors produces plans that fit the school's course rather than a generic textbook.

Set-up. Instructions: "Write 60-minute lesson plans that fit our syllabus and the level given. Include timings, a warmer, one main skill focus, one speaking task and homework. Use vocabulary suitable for the level; flag any word above it." Files: syllabus, level descriptors, two model lesson plans. Shared with all teachers on Claude Team with view permission, so the files stay consistent.

Level B1, 60 minutes, topic: travel problems (lost luggage,
delays). Skill focus: listening. Class of 10 adults.

0-5 min   Warmer: "worst journey" quick pairs
5-20 min  Listening: airport announcement + lost-luggage call...
20-35 min Language: complaints and requests ("I'm afraid...")
35-55 min Speaking: role-play at the lost-luggage desk
55-60 min Homework: email to an airline (120 words)
Flagged above B1: "compensation claim"

What a person checks: that the timings add up to 60 minutes, and that the flagged vocabulary is either pre-taught or swapped out. The teacher adds the actual audio; the Project can't supply licensed recordings.

12. Social posts for a physiotherapy clinic (Gem, becoming a skill)

A clinic's social posts need a consistent voice and careful claims. A Gem holding the clinic's tone guide and a list of approved topics keeps posts on-message without the physiotherapists writing them from scratch.

Set-up. Instructions: "Write three short social media posts (under 60 words each) on the topic given, in the tone of our guide. General advice only; never promise outcomes or suggest a diagnosis. End each with 'Book an assessment if you're unsure.'" Files from Drive: tone guide and approved topic list. Shared with the practice manager and one physiotherapist as editors.

Topic: desk workers and neck stiffness. Three posts.

1. Stiff neck by 3pm? Try this: every hour, drop your shoulders,
   tuck your chin gently and hold for five seconds...
2. Your screen height matters more than your chair...
3. Neck stiffness that lasts more than a couple of weeks is worth
   a proper look. Book an assessment if you're unsure.

What a person checks: that no post drifts into treatment claims ("cures", "fixes"), and that the exercise described is one the clinic is happy to recommend publicly.

Habits from the GPT era worth dropping

• Rules hidden in files. OpenAI's own GPT guidance was to put rules, tone and workflow in instructions and use files for reference material. The same applies to Projects and Gems: a policy PDF is a source, not an instruction.
• Instructions that try to cover everything. Long, conflicting instructions produce erratic answers. Keep them to what's unique to the task, with one or two examples of good output.
• Sharing wider than the files allow. Anyone who can use a shared Gem can see its files, and anyone with edit access to a shared Project can change its instructions. Share with the smallest group that needs it, and give most people chat or view access.
• Client data on personal plans. A GPT built on a personal Plus account with client files in it is a habit to break during the rebuild. Put anything with client, patient or pupil details on the business version.
• No owner. Every assistant needs a named person who updates its files when prices, policies or dates change. The stale price list is the most common reason these assistants give wrong answers.

A test sheet for any rebuilt assistant

OpenAI's migration advice works for any rebuild: compare familiar prompts and at least one harder case, and check the assistant follows your instructions, uses the right reference material and produces complete answers. The dental practice's sheet for its enquiry Project, filled in:

Assistant: Enquiry replies (ChatGPT Project)   Owner: practice manager
Test prompt                           Old GPT     New Project   Pass?
Price of a check-up                   correct     correct       yes
Whitening + sensitivity question      advice!     call-back     yes
Emergency, Saturday evening           no number   gave number   yes
Price not on list (implants)          guessed     "we'll confirm" yes
Long, rambling three-question email   missed one  all three     yes
Files current as of: 1 Oct   Next review: when prices change

The pattern in that sheet is typical: a well-rebuilt assistant often behaves better than the GPT it replaces, because rebuilding forces you to re-read instructions written two years ago. If you're working through several at once, setting up Claude Projects as a shared team assistant and building Gemini Gems for repeat tasks go deeper on each platform's set-up.

Rebuilding custom GPTs: common questions

Will links to our existing GPT stop working?

Yes, at retirement. OpenAI says custom GPTs and their GPT pages become inaccessible on the retirement date, 11 December 2026 for most accounts and 11 February 2027 for Enterprise workspaces with an approved deferral. Replace any GPT link on your website, in email signatures or in staff guides before then, and point people to the rebuilt Project or plugin instead.

Can a ChatGPT Plus user create skills or plugins?

Not as of September 2026. OpenAI lists skills for eligible Business, Enterprise, Healthcare and Edu users, and plugin creation through Plugin Creator for supported Business and Enterprise workspaces. On Plus, the practical replacement for a GPT is a Project, which you can share with up to 10 collaborators.

Are Gemini Gems safe to build on if Google is retiring them?

Yes, for now. Google says Gems will be converted into skills automatically, in March 2027 for Workspace business accounts and November 2026 for personal accounts. Build the Gem, keep its instructions and files in a Drive folder you control, and check the converted skill once it arrives. Nothing needs rebuilding by hand unless you want to move early.

Further reads

• How to Create a Custom GPT for Your Business Step by Step — The older step-by-step build, useful if you're migrating one.
• Should a Custom GPT Answer Your Customers? Limits and Safer Options — Why customer-facing assistants need extra care.
• How to Write SOPs With AI: From Rough Notes to Clear Procedures — More on turning rough notes into procedures.
• How to Write Job Adverts With ChatGPT Without Biased Language — Checking AI-written job adverts for biased wording.
• How to Use ChatGPT Projects to Keep Client Work Separate — Organising Projects so client work stays apart.
• RAG vs Custom GPT vs Fine-Tuning: What Does Your Business Need? — When a knowledge-file assistant isn't enough.
• AI Tools and AI Development: The Complete 2026 Guide — the AI hub, including every tutorial in the AI-for-business series.

Sources: OpenAI help articles 'Custom GPT retirement and migration FAQ', 'GPTs in ChatGPT', 'Projects in ChatGPT', 'Plugins in ChatGPT and Codex' and 'Skills in ChatGPT'; Claude help 'What are projects?' and Google Workspace connector guidance; Gemini Apps Help on using and sharing Gems and on the transition from Gems to skills (checked September 2026).