My Top ChatGPT Features: How I Save Hours (and how you can too!)
May has been a super busy month, along with my retained client work it started with a day delivering Meta ads training to a Newcastle based restaurant chain, then Google Digital Garage YouTube webinar delivery sessions of “Build Your Business Brand Online” and “Social Media Strategy”, as well as small business coaching sessions on how to use Canva and the basics of ChatGPT – which brings me to this post!
Every day I work with small business owners juggling the same challenges – dealing with lots of admin, sales calls, delivering for clients, and somehow finding time for marketing. It’s exhausting, and unsustainable without the right tools. If you’ve ever found yourself staring at a screen thinking, “There must be a quicker way to do this” then you’re absolutely right – there is!
The tool that’s genuinely transformed how I work (and how my clients work after a bit of coaching 😉) is ChatGPT. But I’m not talking about the basic “write me a social media post” approach. I use it as a proper digital assistant, one that understands my business, remembers our conversations, and actually helps me get stuff done.
I thought I’d write a post sharing the ChatGPT features I rely on every week, ordered by how useful they are and how easy they are to implement.
Start with the first one, it’s free and will immediately improve every ChatGPT conversation you have.
1. Custom Instructions: Set It Once, Use It Forever
What it does: Tell ChatGPT once how you prefer to work, and it remembers permanently.
Cost: Free for all users
Why this is your starting point: Every conversation begins with ChatGPT already understanding your context. No more explaining your business or preferred communication style every single time.
The setup that saves time: In your ChatGPT settings, define:
About you: For example: “I’m a digital marketing coach for small businesses. I help overwhelmed business owners create effective marketing strategies without the complexity. My clients typically have 1-10 employees and struggle with consistent content creation and lead generation.”
How you want ChatGPT to respond: For example “Keep responses practical and actionable. Use UK English. Avoid jargon and overly technical explanations. When suggesting marketing strategies, focus on simple, cost-effective approaches that don’t require large teams or budgets.”
The difference this makes: Every conversation starts with ChatGPT already understanding your context. You’ll get better, more relevant responses immediately.
Time saved: 10-15 minutes per conversation that would normally be spent providing context.
2. Image Generation: Your In-House Designer
What it creates: Professional-looking visuals based on your descriptions – no design experience required, you just need to be able to write good instructions.
Cost: Limited free usage; unlimited with ChatGPT Plus ($20/month, roughly £16)
Why small businesses love this: Stop spending hours on Canva or paying for stock photos that don’t quite fit your brand.
What I create regularly:
- Social media graphics with consistent branding
- Workshop slide visuals that explain complex concepts
To get better results:
Be specific about:
- Colour schemes (“professional blue and white palette”)
- Style (“clean, minimalist business style”)
- Elements (“include space for text overlay”)
- Dimensions (“Instagram post format”)
Prompt example:
“Create a professional image for a LinkedIn post about email marketing tips. Clean, modern style with blue and white colours, space for text overlay, business-appropriate.”
Time saved: 1-2 hours weekly that used to be spent on design tools or waiting for designers.
3. Document Upload
What it does: Upload any PDF, spreadsheet, presentation, or document. ChatGPT reads it, understands it, and can reference that information in future conversations.
Cost: Free version limited to 3 documents per day.
The business impact: All those workshop notes, client feedback forms, strategy documents, and half-finished content sitting in folders? They become instantly useful again.
How I use this feature:
- Upload client questionnaires and get blog post ideas based on real pain points`
- Turn presentations into LinkedIn articles and posts
- Convert workshop materials into email course content
- Summarise lengthy reports or whitepapers.
Step-by-step example:
- Upload your last client onboarding questionnaire
- Ask: “Based on the common challenges mentioned, help me create a personalised coaching framework that addresses these specific pain points”
- ChatGPT analyses the responses and creates a tailored approach for your clients
- Use this framework to develop targeted content and service offerings
Pro tip: Upload your frequently asked questions document. ChatGPT can then help you create content that directly addresses what your clients actually want to know.
Time saved: 2-3 hours weekly that would normally be spent re-reading documents and trying to remember useful insights.
4. Projects: Organising Your Chats
What it is: A dedicated space where ChatGPT remembers everything about a specific project/topic/client – uploaded files, previous conversations, and ongoing tasks. Each project can be customised.
Cost: ChatGPT Plus ($20/month, roughly £16)
Why small businesses need this: Stop losing track of conversations and starting from scratch every time. Each project maintains its own context and memory and you can customise it by uploading specific documents; for example I upload audience personas and empathy maps for each client so everything within that project is personalised to them.
Unlike the global Custom Instructions, which shape how ChatGPT responds to you across all chats, Project customisation lets you fine-tune how it behaves within a specific task so each project can follow its own brief without affecting others.
How to set this up: Create separate projects for:
- Content Planning: Monthly themes, content calendars, social media planning
- Client Campaigns: Individual client work, their specific requirements and progress
- Product Development: Course creation, service development, research materials
- Business Operations: Process documentation, team training materials
Real workflow example: My “Ellerbrook Digital” project contains:
- My audience profiles and empathy map
- All ongoing conversations about anything to do with my business (rather than my clients for which I have separate projects).
Time saved: About 2 hours weekly that used to be spent catching ChatGPT up on context and searching through old conversations.
5. Custom GPTs: Your Personal Assistant
What it actually is: Think of it as training your own version of ChatGPT to understand your business inside and out – your tone, your services, your typical challenges.
Cost: ChatGPT Plus ($20/month, roughly £16)
Why this matters for small businesses: Stop explaining yourself repeatedly. A Custom GPT learns your business context once, then applies it to everything. No more “Here’s my business again…” at the start of every conversation.
My Content Repurposer GPT: I’ve built a Custom GPT specifically designed to take comprehensive content (like this blog post) and create:
- 5-7 LinkedIn posts highlighting different key points
- Instagram carousel slides with main takeaways
- Video script ideas for YouTube Shorts or Instagram Reels
- Email newsletter snippets for weekly updates
What makes this different?: It understands my audience (small business owners), my tone (practical, no-nonsense), and my content goals (actionable advice, not theory). Every piece of repurposed content feels intentional, not automated.
The Folklore Weaver GPT: This is a Custom GPT I created for storytelling, it’s a plain-English reteller of authentic English folklore. It draws on a curated archive of digitised, out-of-print books and primary sources, including fieldwork records, letters, and early folklore collections. The GPT uses web search to check sources or fill in historical context where appropriate, ensuring each story is both accurate and accessible. I am using it for a creative project I’m currently working on.
How to set up your own Custom GPT:
Create a new Custom GPT focused solely on content repurposing
Upload 5-10 examples of your best performing social content
Define your brand voice, audience, and content objectives
Train it with specific instructions: “Always include actionable takeaways” or “Keep LinkedIn posts under 1,500 characters”
Time saved: 2 hours weekly that would normally be spent manually creating social content from blog posts and other long-form content.
6. Automated Workflows with Zapier
What it does: Connects ChatGPT/OpenAI to other tools in your business stack, creating automated workflows that run without you.
You’ll need an OpenAI account and an API key to connect ChatGPT to Zapier. Note that using the API incurs costs, though typically very low.
Cost: OpenAI with API + Zapier subscription (starts at $20/month, a free trial is available) – so roughly £32/month total.
Why this transforms small businesses: Turn repetitive tasks into automated systems. Set it up once, then let it run whilst you focus on other stuff.
Real example from my client work: I helped a business coach automate their LinkedIn content creation:
- RSS feed from their favourite industry publications →
- ChatGPT analyses and summarises key articles →
- Creates engaging LinkedIn content with their commentary and hook
- Saves them 2 hours daily of content research and writing
Suggested AI workflows for small business productivity:
- New client enquiry form → ChatGPT creates personalised welcome email Automatically sent
- Weekly Google Analytics report → ChatGPT summarises key insights → Emailed to you every Monday
- New podcast episode published → ChatGPT creates social media posts → Scheduled across platforms
How to get started with automated workflows using ChatGPT and Zapier:
- Sign up for Zapier
- Set Up Your OpenAI Account and Generate an API Key
- Connect OpenAI to Zapier
- Start with Creating a New Zap in Zapier try setting up one simple workflow, like the LinkedIn content example
- Test thoroughly before letting it run automatically
- Gradually add more complex workflows as you get comfortable
Time saved: 5 hours weekly once you have several workflows running, though setup takes initial investment of time.
Pro Tip: You don’t have to use Zapier, there are many other more affordable tools to achieve the same end result such as Make.
7. Scheduled Tasks with ChatGPT
What it does: Set up ChatGPT to email you specific information at regular intervals – daily, weekly, or monthly reminders with fresh content.
Cost: ChatGPT Plus ($20/month, roughly £16)
The game-changer for staying informed: Never miss important updates in your field. ChatGPT becomes your research assistant, delivering relevant information when you need it.
Practical examples:
- “Email me every Monday at 9am with the latest interesting AI developments from the past week”
- “Send me a Wednesday morning update on new marketing trends and tools”
- “Weekly digest of industry news relevant to small business coaching”
- “Daily 8am email with one actionable business tip I can share with my audience”
- You can even ask it to email you the weather forecast every morning…
How to set up a scheduled task in ChatGPT:
- In ChatGPT, describe exactly what you want, for example, “I want you to search the web every Monday and Wednesday at 9am for the latest interesting stories about AI and email me a summary”
- ChatGPT will confirm the schedule and what it will include
- Share your email address and preferred format
- Test with a shorter interval first (like daily for a week) to refine the content
Real workflow example: My Monday morning AI digest includes:
- The 3-4 most significant AI developments from the past week
- Brief explanation of why each matters for small businesses
- One practical application I could try
- Links to original sources
Time saved: 1-2 hours weekly that would normally be spent scanning news sites and industry publications.
Important note: This is a newer feature that’s still being refined, so test your setup carefully and adjust as needed. I’m hoping it will become more useful and ultimately integrate with third party apps like whatsapp and Google calendar (unlikely I know!).
All of these features have genuinely transformed how I run my business, I find it hard to remember how I organised myself before I had this. I spend less time on repetitive tasks and more time on strategy, client work, and business development. The $20 monthly investment (roughly £16) pays for itself within the first week when you consider the time saved on content creation, document analysis, and project planning.
Start with Custom Instructions (it’s free), then gradually add the paid features as you see the value. Your future self will thank you for the hours you get back each week.
