ChatGPT Unlocks Projects Feature for All Users

In a significant update, OpenAI has announced that its powerful Projects feature is now available to all free users of ChatGPT. This tool, previously exclusive to paid subscribers, is designed to help users better organize and manage their interactions with the AI assistant.

What Are ChatGPT Projects

While they might seem like simple folders for your conversations, Projects offer much more than basic organization. This feature allows you to create dedicated workspaces for specific subjects or tasks. Within each project, you can set custom instructions that tailor how the AI responds and what persona it adopts. Furthermore, you can limit the information and files ChatGPT can reference, ensuring that the AI stays focused on the context of that specific project. This makes it an invaluable tool for power users managing multiple complex tasks.

Enhanced Functionality and Customization

As part of this rollout, OpenAI is also increasing the file upload limits for referencing within a project. The new structure is tiered as follows:

• Free users: Can upload up to 5 files.
• Plus subscribers: Can upload up to 25 files.
• Pro subscribers: Can upload up to 40 files.

Additionally, all users, both free and paid, can now customize their projects with unique colors and icons for easier visual organization.

OpenAI's Freemium Strategy

This move is consistent with OpenAI's established strategy of gradually migrating premium features to its free tier. Over the past few years, functionalities like Deep Research and ChatGPT Voice also began as paid exclusives before becoming widely available. Offering a limited version of a premium feature serves as a strategic incentive, encouraging free users to upgrade for expanded capabilities. A similar logic was applied to the release of the new GPT-5 model, which is accessible to everyone but with stricter usage limits for non-paying users.

Availability and Rollout

The Projects feature is currently available for free users on the web version of ChatGPT and within the Android app. OpenAI has stated that the update for the iOS ChatGPT app will be rolled out "over the coming days."