# ChatGPT shared projects: how they work and what they share

Everyone in a shared project sees the same chats and files, and ChatGPT remembers the project, not the people. What that means in practice.

Published 2026-10-05 by Richard Kaminsky and Mitchell Lipyansky, the co-founders of Poly. Canonical: https://usepoly.co/chatgpt-shared-projects
Poly is a multiplayer AI coding workspace: a shared room where your team works with one AI agent, together. Free to start: https://usepoly.co/

**ChatGPT shared projects let several people use one project's chats, files and instructions. Every plan has them as of October 2026, Free included: open a project, select Share, and invite people by email or turn on "Anyone with a link". Collaborators get chat or edit access, can read every chat in the project and branch it, but can't type into the same chat together. Shared projects always use project-only memory, so ChatGPT never brings a member's personal memory into them.**

## Key takeaways

- On every plan since October 23, 2025, and on Business, Enterprise and Edu since September 25, 2025.
- Up to 5 collaborators on Free, 10 on Plus and Go, and 100 on Pro and workspace plans. The owner's plan sets the cap.
- Two roles: chat access and edit access. Only the owner removes members.
- Members see every chat in the project and can branch one, but nobody works in the same chat at the same time.
- Memory stays inside the project, and personal memories and custom instructions stay out.

## How do you share a ChatGPT project?

1. Open the project and select **Share**.
2. Invite people by name or email ("Only those invited"), or switch the link to **Anyone with a link**. Business, Enterprise and Edu can also invite a workspace group or share a link with the whole workspace.
3. Give each person **chat** or **edit** access.

People who join by link need to be signed in to ChatGPT. Only the owner can open the link to everyone, and they can switch back to invite-only at any time. In a managed workspace, invitations may be limited to workspace members ([OpenAI](https://help.openai.com/en/articles/10169521-projects-in-chatgpt)).

## How many people can join a shared project?

*ChatGPT shared project limits by the owner's plan, from OpenAI's help center, October 5, 2026.*

| Owner's plan | Collaborators | Files per project | Ways to share |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Free | 5 | 5 | Invite, or anyone with the link |
| Go and Plus | 10 | 25 | Invite, or anyone with the link |
| Pro | 100 | 40 | Invite, or anyone with the link |
| Business, Enterprise, Edu | 100 | 40 | Invite people or groups, or a workspace link |

Users can create an unlimited number of projects. At most 10 files can be uploaded at once, and each file can be up to 512 MB ([OpenAI](https://help.openai.com/en/articles/8555545-file-uploads-faq)).

## What can members see and do?

- **Chat access:** see and use the project's chats, files and instructions.
- **Edit access:** also update the instructions, add or remove files and invite others, but not remove anyone.
- **The owner** also removes members, sets permissions, renames and deletes the project.

Every member can see the project's chats, files and member list, and each chat shows who started it. OpenAI says chats in shared projects "can be branched, not collaborated on synchronously": a member who wants to continue a teammate's chat makes a copy beside it. Members can delete or archive their own chats, which then disappear for everyone, owner included. A member who leaves can copy their chats into a new project.

## How does memory work in a shared project?

- **Project-only, always.** Shared projects can't be switched to default memory, and they can't see any member's personal memories, custom instructions or chats outside the project.
- **The project is the context.** ChatGPT draws on the project's chats, files and instructions. Anything said in any member's chat there can shape answers for everyone.
- **No memory list.** To keep a chat out of the project's memory, delete it or move it.
- **ChatGPT Work** isn't available in a project with project-only memory, which includes every shared project.

On personal plans, a shared project's content is used to train models only if the owner and every contributor have "Improve the model for everyone" turned on. OpenAI doesn't train on Business, Enterprise or Edu content by default.

## What do Business and Enterprise admins control?

- **Role permissions** for creating and sharing projects, under Workspace settings > Permissions & roles. Enterprise can turn sharing off.
- **Inherited settings:** projects follow the workspace's retention, data residency and audit logging, with no separate policy.
- **Compliance API:** list a project's members, or isolate a project by removing everyone but the owner.
- **Groups:** invite a group, though people added to it later aren't notified and don't see the project automatically.

## Shared projects, Pages and Space

On September 29, 2026, OpenAI added Space and Pages ([release notes](https://help.openai.com/en/articles/6825453-chatgpt-release-notes)). Pages can be edited together in real time, but each collaborator works with their own ChatGPT. Space replaces Library and leaves Projects separate. ChatGPT group chats, the one place several people talked to the same ChatGPT, stopped taking new chats on July 9, 2026 ([what happened](/chatgpt-group-chats)). Single chats are shared as snapshots ([how](/share-chatgpt-chat)).

## How is it different from Claude?

Claude shares projects only on Team and Enterprise, inside the organization, and keeps each member's chats private. ChatGPT shares on every plan and lets members read each other's chats. Neither lets two people talk to the AI in the same thread. Details in [How to share a Claude project](/share-claude-project), and why sharing one login isn't the answer in [Can you share a ChatGPT account?](/share-chatgpt-account).

## When you want one conversation, not branches

A shared project is a shared folder of context: everyone still talks to the AI alone and copies each other's chats to continue them. For a group that wants to work in the same live conversation, Poly (usepoly.co) is a browser room where everyone sees each message as it happens, anyone can reply, and the room's memory is shared. It runs Claude, GPT and other models, and any member can approve a change before the AI makes it. Free to start. [What is Poly?](/what-is-poly)

## Common questions

**Can you share a ChatGPT project on the free plan?**

Yes. Since October 23, 2025, every plan can share projects. Free projects hold up to 5 collaborators and 5 files.

**Can members of a shared ChatGPT project see my chats?**

Yes. Everyone in a shared project can see its chats, files and member list. Delete or archive a chat you own to remove it for everyone.

**Does a shared ChatGPT project use my personal memory?**

No. Shared projects always use project-only memory and can't see any member's memories, custom instructions or chats outside the project.

**Can two people use the same ChatGPT chat at once?**

No. Chats in shared projects can be branched, not collaborated on synchronously, and ChatGPT group chats stopped taking new chats on July 9, 2026.

**Can you share a ChatGPT Business project outside the workspace?**

OpenAI says invitations in a managed workspace may be limited to workspace members, and documents no way to add outside guests to a workspace project.

More guides: https://usepoly.co/guides · Security: https://usepoly.co/security · Pricing: https://usepoly.co/pricing