This is part 8 of my free course, ChatGPT for Beginners.

I’ll walk through building a custom GPT. You don’t need any technical background!

Here’s the Youtube version of this post:

Table of Contents

• Why build a Custom GPT?

• What’s the difference between a Custom GPT versus …

• Step-by-Step Tutorial to Build Custom GPT

  • 1. Login

  • 2. Create Custom GPT

  • 3. Define Your GPT's Purpose and Behavior

  • 4. Configure Conversation Starters

  • 5. Upload Knowledge Resources

  • 6. Additional Capabilities

  • 7. Custom Actions (Optional)

  • 8. Testing

  • 9. Deploy

• How do you monetize a Custom GPT?

• Need More Help? 👋

Why build a Custom GPT?

Building a custom GPT allows you to tailor ChatGPT’s interactions to specific use cases, train ChatGPT with context-specific knowledge, and allow ChatGPT to perform actions such as calling external APIs and tools.

Here are some benefits of building a custom GPT:

1. Accuracy: By training on custom data, custom GPTs can provide more precise, context-aware responses, especially for specialized use cases or industries.

2. Efficiency: Automating routine tasks with a custom GPT frees up time for teams to focus on higher-priority activities.

3. Marketing: You can build a custom GPT and use it as top-of-funnel marketing and lead generation. I’ll dive into this at the end.

What’s the difference between a Custom GPT versus OpenAI Assistant?

You may have heard of OpenAI Assistants as well.

They’re similar, but not the same.

Here is the difference between creating a custom GPT vs. OpenAI Assistant:

Custom GPTs: allows anyone to create tailored versions of ChatGPT without coding. They are accessible through the ChatGPT interface and can be shared with others.

OpenAI Assistants: intended for developers to integrate AI assistants within apps. For example, your workflow automation in Zapier or Make.com can call an OpenAI Assistant to perform a specific task.

I recommend starting with building custom GPTs because it’s easier and requires no technical expertise.

Also important to note:

OpenAI forum members have observed poorer quality results with Assistants compared to Custom GPTs.

Step-by-Step Tutorial to Build Custom GPT

1. Login

Log into your OpenAI account at chat.com.

You must have a ChatGPT Plus or Enterprise subscription.

2. Create Custom GPT

In the ChatGPT interface, go to the left sidebar.

Click on "Explore GPTs" to access the GPT Store.

In the upper right hand corner, select "Create" to start building your custom GPT.

This opens the GPT Builder interface where you'll start creating.

3. Define Your GPT's Purpose and Behavior

In the GPT Builder, you'll be prompted to provide a name and description for your GPT. Describe it purpose and the specific tasks it should perform.

For example, if you're developing a sales assistant, you might name it "SalesGPT" and describe it as "A virtual assistant designed to provide detailed product information and handle customer inquiries."

Next, set the instructions that dictate your GPT's behavior.

You can specify the tone (e.g., formal, casual) and any guidelines it should follow.

For example, instruct your GPT to "Respond to customer questions with detailed product information, maintaining a friendly and professional tone."

4. Configure Conversation Starters

If you use ChatGPT’s conversational builder interface, it will automatically create a title, description, and conversation starters for your GPT.

You can also edit these settings explicitly by clicking “Configure”.

Under the "Conversation Starters" section, create initial prompts that guide users on how to interact with your GPT. These prompts serve as examples to help users understand the GPT's capabilities.

For example:

• "What are the features of [Product Name]?"

• "Can you help me compare [Product A] and [Product B]?"

These starters gives users sample questions they can ask.

5. Upload Knowledge Resources

Here’s where custom GPTs really shine!

You can design its knowledge base by uploading relevant documents. This gives ChatGPT additional context and information to answer questions correctly.

In the "Knowledge" section, I uploaded my list of 1000+ proven viral hooks for Tiktok and Instagram. Simply click "Upload File" and select your documents.

6. Additional Capabilities

You can enable additional capabilities for your GPT, such as:

• Web Browsing: access and retrieve up-to-date information from the internet.

• DALL·E Image Generation: create images based on textual descriptions.

• Code Interpreter: execute code and analyze data.

To enable these features, navigate to the "Capabilities" section and toggle them.

7. Custom Actions (Optional)

Although out-of-scope for this beginner tutorial, I still want to mention Custom Actions.

They allow your GPT to interact with external APIs and tools.

In the "Actions" section, click "Add Action" and provide details, such as the API endpoint, authentication method, and parameters. Because of the technical nature of this Actions, I’m not covering it in this tutorial.

But highly recommend you play around with it, AFTER launching your first custom GPT without any coding 🙂 baby steps!

8. Testing

Use the righthand side “Preview” panel to thoroughly test your GPT, ensuring it behaves as intended.

Try different prompts, verify its responses, and make adjustments to its configuration.

In the Youtube video, I built a custom GPT to generate viral hooks for Tiktok and Instagram videos. During testing, I checked my GPT returned hooks sourced from my list of 1000+ proven hooks and that the image generation capability works.

9. Deploy

Once ready, deploy your custom GPT by clicking "Create" in the upper right corner.

Select the visibility option you want:

In order to deploy to the public GPT Store, you’ll need to:

1. Setup your Builder Profile

Go to your profile Settings > Builder Profile > Links.

OpenAI requires you to setup a domain and verify it. You’ll need to add a TXT record to your domain’s DNS settings, then come back to ChatGPT and click “Verify”.

2. Remove copyrighted or trademarked language

In my custom GPT, I originally had its title and description contain references to Tiktok and Instagram. However, these are copyrighted terms.

In order to successfully deploy the GPT, I had to replace the terms Tiktok and Instagram with a generic phrase like “Short Form Videos”.

After deploying your custom GPT, monitor your GPT's interactions to ensure consistent and accurate responses!

How do you monetize a Custom GPT?

Here are a couple ways to monetize a custom GPT:

1. Third-Party Monetization Platforms: Services like GPTEEZY enable you to implement subscription models and paywalls. These tools allow you to manage user access and payments, allowing you to earn income from GPTs.

2. Direct Monetization: You can try integrating payment systems directly into your GPTs, but this may involve technical work to handle payments and manage access control, ensuring only paying users can use certain features. I don’t recommend this if you’re just starting out.

3. Affiliate and Advertising: You can incorporate affiliate links or advertising within your GPT’s responses. However, don’t be too intrusive, otherwise this hurts the user experience.

For me personally, I plan to create custom GPTs and use them as top-of-funnel marketing awareness, driving traffic back to this free AI newsletter or Blotato.

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