Introduction
In this tutorial, you'll learn how to create and use custom AI agents within ChatGPT's workspace feature. These agents can automate repetitive tasks, gather information, and perform work on their own - just like the examples OpenAI announced. By the end of this tutorial, you'll have built your own AI agent that can perform a simple task like finding product feedback online and summarizing it.
Prerequisites
To follow this tutorial, you'll need:
- A ChatGPT account with a Business, Enterprise, Edu, or Teachers plan (workspace agents are not available on free plans)
- Basic familiarity with using ChatGPT
- Access to a web browser
- Ability to create and share documents or messages (for testing your agent's output)
Step-by-Step Instructions
1. Accessing the Workspace Feature
The first step is to navigate to the workspace section where you'll create your custom agents.
Step 1: Log into ChatGPT
Go to chat.openai.com and sign in with your credentials. Make sure you're using an account with a Business, Enterprise, Edu, or Teachers plan.
Step 2: Navigate to Workspace
Look for the "Workspace" option in the left sidebar menu. If you don't see it, you may need to check that your subscription plan includes workspace access. Click on it to open the workspace dashboard.
2. Creating Your First Agent
Now you'll create a simple agent that can search for product feedback online and summarize it.
Step 1: Click Create New Agent
In the workspace dashboard, click the "Create new agent" button. This will open the agent creation interface.
Step 2: Name Your Agent
Give your agent a descriptive name like "Product Feedback Summarizer". This helps you identify it later when you have multiple agents.
Step 3: Set Agent Instructions
In the instructions field, enter the following:
"You are a helpful assistant that searches the web for product feedback and summarizes it. When someone asks you to find feedback about a specific product, you should search for recent reviews, comments, and mentions of that product. Then create a clear summary that includes both positive and negative points. Always cite your sources by including links to the original feedback. If you can't find recent feedback, let the user know."
This instruction tells your agent exactly what it should do when activated.
Step 4: Configure Agent Capabilities
Enable the following capabilities:
- Web browsing - This allows your agent to search the internet
- File reading - For reading documents or reports
- Code execution - For running simple code if needed
These capabilities are essential for your agent to perform its tasks effectively.
3. Testing Your Agent
Step 1: Start a Conversation
Click on your new agent in the workspace list to open a conversation with it. You'll see a chat interface where you can interact with your agent.
Step 2: Give Your Agent a Task
Type in a message like: "Find recent feedback about the iPhone 15 Pro and summarize it for me."
Step 3: Analyze the Response
Your agent should search the web and provide a summary of feedback about the iPhone 15 Pro. It should include both positive and negative points and cite sources.
4. Refining Your Agent's Performance
Step 1: Provide Feedback
If the agent's response isn't quite what you expected, you can provide feedback. Click the "Feedback" button and explain what you'd like different.
Step 2: Adjust Instructions
Go back to your agent's settings and refine the instructions. For example, if you want more technical details, you might update the instructions to:
"You are a helpful assistant that searches the web for product feedback and summarizes it. When someone asks you to find feedback about a specific product, you should search for recent reviews, comments, and mentions of that product. Then create a clear summary that includes both positive and negative points. Focus on technical specifications, performance, and user experience. Always cite your sources by including links to the original feedback. If you can't find recent feedback, let the user know."
This helps your agent understand more specific requirements.
Step 3: Save and Test Again
After making adjustments, save your changes and test the agent again with the same query to see if it performs better.
5. Sharing Your Agent
Step 1: Access Sharing Settings
In your agent's settings, look for the "Share" option. This allows you to share your agent with team members.
Step 2: Invite Team Members
Enter the email addresses of people you want to share the agent with. You can set different permission levels for different users.
Step 3: Test Sharing
Have a colleague test the agent to make sure it works as expected in their environment.
Summary
In this tutorial, you've learned how to create and use custom AI agents within ChatGPT's workspace feature. You've built an agent that can search the web for product feedback and summarize it. You've also learned how to test, refine, and share your agents with team members. This technology allows you to automate repetitive tasks and increase productivity by having AI assistants handle specific workloads. As you become more comfortable with this feature, you can create more complex agents for tasks like data analysis, customer support, or content creation.
