How to Switch from ChatGPT to Claude (Without Starting Over)

You don't need to lose your ChatGPT training. This guide shows you how to extract everything ChatGPT knows about you and rebuild it — better — in Claude.

Step 1: Export Your ChatGPT Context

ChatGPT has learned your writing style, preferences, and workflows from months of conversations. Let's extract all of that.

The Migration Prompt

Copy and paste this prompt into ChatGPT:

I'm migrating from ChatGPT to Claude and want to preserve everything you know about me. Please generate a comprehensive profile that includes:

1. My writing style and tone preferences
2. My professional context and role
3. Common tasks I ask you to help with
4. Any specific instructions or preferences I've given you
5. Projects or ongoing work we've discussed
6. Tools, frameworks, or technologies I frequently work with

Format this as a detailed profile that another AI could use to provide the same level of personalized assistance.

Save ChatGPT's response. This is your migration document.

Step 2: Transform It for Claude

Claude Projects use "Custom Instructions" to maintain context. Let's convert your ChatGPT profile into Claude-optimized instructions.

The Instructions Generator Prompt

Take the output from Step 1 and paste it into a new Claude conversation along with this prompt:

You're helping me set up Claude Project instructions. I'm migrating from ChatGPT. Here's my ChatGPT profile:

[PASTE YOUR CHATGPT EXPORT HERE]

Please reformat this into optimized Claude Project instructions that:
- Start with my role and professional context
- Include my communication preferences and tone
- List common tasks and workflows
- Specify any tools, frameworks, or domains I work in
- Are clear, structured, and actionable

Format it ready to paste directly into a Claude Project's Custom Instructions field.

Step 3: Create Your Claude Project

Go to claude.ai
Click "Projects" in the sidebar
Create a new Project (name it something like "Personal AI Assistant" or "Work Context")
Paste your generated instructions into the "Custom Instructions" field
Add any relevant documents (style guides, company docs, code samples)

Pro tip: You can have multiple Projects for different contexts (work, creative writing, coding, etc.)

Step 4: Test the Migration

Start a conversation in your new Claude Project. Try these tests:

Ask Claude to write something in your style
Request help with a typical task
Reference a project or context from your ChatGPT history

Claude should respond with the same level of personalization you had with ChatGPT — often better, because Projects maintain context across all conversations.

Step 5: What Claude Can Do That ChatGPT Can't

Now that you've migrated, here's what makes Claude better for real work:

Projects = Persistent Context

Unlike ChatGPT's memory (which is inconsistent), Claude Projects maintain perfect context across all conversations. Add documents, set instructions once, and every chat in that Project has full context.

Skills = Automation

Claude Skills let you create reusable prompts with variables. Think of them as custom commands for your most common tasks.

MCP Integrations

Model Context Protocol connects Claude to your actual tools: GitHub, file systems, databases, APIs. ChatGPT can't do this.

Comparison

Feature	ChatGPT	Claude
Persistent context	Memory (unreliable)	Projects (perfect)
Multi-document context	Limited	Unlimited in Projects
Custom workflows	Custom GPTs (siloed)	Skills (portable)
Tool integrations	Plugins (deprecated)	MCP (growing ecosystem)
Context window	128k tokens	200k tokens

Step 6: Next Steps

Basic Setup (you're done!)

✓ Migrated your ChatGPT context
✓ Set up your first Claude Project
✓ Tested personalization

Go Deeper

Want to build a complete AI operating system with Claude? The full course covers:

Advanced Project architectures
Building and using Skills
Setting up MCP integrations
Automating workflows with Claude + n8n
Real-world case studies

Check out Claude for Everyone →

Checklist

Use this to track your migration:

Ran the Migration Prompt in ChatGPT
Saved my ChatGPT profile export
Transformed it using the Instructions Generator
Created my first Claude Project
Pasted custom instructions
Tested personalization
Explored Projects, Skills, and MCP
Deleted my ChatGPT account (optional but liberating)

Questions?

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