Three Ways to Turn a Written Procedure Into a Reusable AI Assistant
Quick verdict: use the one that belongs to the assistant your team already pays for. If you are choosing fresh, Claude Projects is the easiest to start with because it works on every plan including free. Gemini Gems is the natural pick for teams that live in Google Workspace. Custom GPTs now make sense mainly for teams on a ChatGPT Business plan, because personal ChatGPT accounts can no longer create new ones.
This guide is part of our AI Automation for Small Business series.
What All Three Do
A standard operating procedure, or SOP, is the written version of “how we do this here”. All three features let you store that procedure once, as instructions plus reference files, so that anyone on the team can open the assistant and get help that already follows your rules. Nobody has to paste the same background into a blank chat again.
Typical small-business uses:
- a client-onboarding assistant that knows your checklist and welcome email,
- a proposal assistant that knows your services, prices, and tone,
- a support assistant that knows your refund and delivery policies,
- a bookkeeping-prep assistant that knows how you categorize expenses.
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Custom GPTs (ChatGPT) | Claude Projects | Gemini Gems | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who can create one | Business, Enterprise, and Edu workspaces. Not personal Free, Go, Plus, or Pro accounts. | Every plan. Free accounts are limited to 5 projects. | Created in the Gemini app. Check Google’s help page for current plan rules. |
| Instructions | Yes | Yes, per project | Yes |
| Reference files | Yes, uploaded as knowledge | Yes, as project knowledge. Paid plans expand capacity automatically when knowledge gets large. | Yes, uploaded or added from Google Drive |
| Sharing inside a team | Within the workspace, subject to admin settings | Team and Enterprise plans, with “can view” and “can edit” permissions | Shared the same way as a Google Drive file. Admins can turn it off. |
| Sharing outside the team | By link or the GPT Store, where allowed | Not designed for it | Follows your organization’s Drive sharing settings |
| Best fit | Teams already on ChatGPT Business | Teams that want the simplest setup and work with long documents | Teams whose procedures already live in Google Docs and Drive |
Sources: OpenAI: creating and editing GPTs, OpenAI: sharing and publishing GPTs, Anthropic: what are projects, Claude pricing, Google: Gems in Gemini Apps, Google Workspace Updates: Gems sharing.
Custom GPTs
Where they work well
A custom GPT is a packaged assistant with its own name, instructions, knowledge files, and optional connections to outside services. It is the most “product-like” of the three, and it is the only one with a public store. For a team on ChatGPT Business, one person can build a GPT and everyone in the workspace can use it.
Where they can be the wrong choice
According to OpenAI’s help centre, new GPT creation and publishing are not available on personal ChatGPT accounts, including Free, Go, Plus, and Pro. Existing GPTs remain usable. That means a solo operator on a personal plan cannot start here. ChatGPT’s own Projects feature is the closer equivalent for individuals.
Claude Projects
Where they work well
A project is a workspace with its own instructions, knowledge files, and chat history. It is available on every Claude plan, including free accounts, which can create up to five. On Team and Enterprise plans a project can be shared with colleagues with two permission levels: “can view” lets someone use the project and see its contents, and “can edit” lets them change instructions and knowledge and manage members. That split suits SOPs well, since one person owns the procedure and everyone else uses it.
Where they can be the wrong choice
Individual plans do not include sharing, so a team of people on separate Pro accounts would each have to rebuild the project. Sharing starts at the Team plan, which is $25 per seat per month, or $20 billed annually.
Gemini Gems
Where they work well
A Gem is a customized version of Gemini with its own instructions and files. Google added Gem sharing in September 2025 and built it on the same sharing system as Google Drive, so the dialog is the one your team already knows from Docs. Shared Gems are stored in Drive, and other people can use, edit, or copy them depending on the access you give. If your procedures already live in Google Docs, a Gem can point at those files directly.
Where they can be the wrong choice
Google notes that a Gem is only shareable when its knowledge comes from uploaded files or Google Drive files. Adding other kinds of sources makes the share button unavailable. Workspace admins can also switch Gem sharing off, so check with whoever manages your Google account.
How to Turn One SOP Into an Assistant, in Any of the Three
- Pick one procedure that is done at least weekly and already written down.
- Write the instructions in plain sentences. Who the assistant is helping, what the output should look like, what it must never do, and what to do when the files do not cover a question.
- Attach only the files that procedure needs. One checklist, one template, one policy. More files make answers vaguer, not better.
- Add a refusal rule. For example: “If the answer is not in the attached documents, say so and suggest who to ask. Do not guess.”
- Test with five real past cases and compare the output to what your team actually did.
- Name one owner who updates the files when the procedure changes.
A starter instruction you can adapt
You help the team at [business] follow our client onboarding procedure. Use only the attached checklist and email templates. When asked to prepare an onboarding, produce: (1) the checklist with any steps that do not apply removed and a reason given, (2) a welcome email in our template, filled in with the client details provided. If information is missing, list what is missing instead of inventing it. Never state prices, dates, or contract terms that are not in the attached files.
What to Keep Out of All Three
Do not upload client personal data, credentials, or contracts with confidentiality clauses into a shared assistant without checking the plan’s data terms first. Consumer and business plans often handle data differently. Our AI compliance guide and governance policy template cover the checks and the wording.
Decision Checklist
- Already paying for ChatGPT Business? Use custom GPTs.
- Already on Claude Team, or starting from nothing? Use Claude Projects.
- Procedures live in Google Docs and the team is on Workspace? Use Gems.
- Solo on a personal plan? Claude Projects or Gems. Custom GPT creation is not available on personal ChatGPT accounts.
- Need to share an assistant with clients or the public? Custom GPTs are built for it. Gems can do it if your Drive settings allow.
FAQ
Can I create a custom GPT on ChatGPT Plus?
OpenAI’s help centre states that new GPT creation is not available on personal accounts, including Plus. Existing GPTs can still be used.
Are Claude Projects free?
Yes, with a limit of five projects on free accounts. Sharing a project with colleagues requires a Team or Enterprise plan.
Can I share a Gem with someone outside my company?
Only if your organization’s Google Drive settings allow external sharing, because Gem sharing follows those settings.
Do these replace an automation platform?
No. They help a person follow a procedure faster. An automation platform runs steps without a person. See Zapier vs Make vs n8n for that layer.
Which gives the best answers?
That depends on your documents and task. Build the same SOP in the tools you have access to, run the same five test cases, and keep the one your team corrects least.
Final Recommendation
Do not add a second AI subscription for this feature alone. Start with the assistant your team already uses, turn one weekly procedure into a shared assistant, name an owner, and test it against real past cases before anyone relies on it.
