How to connect ChatGPT to your notes

ChatGPT has more than a billion weekly users. In OpenAI's own study of how people use it, about half of all messages are people asking for information or advice. That is a lot of good answers, and almost all of them disappear into chat history.

Connecting ChatGPT to your notes changes two things. ChatGPT can answer from what you have already written down. And when a chat produces something worth keeping, ChatGPT can save it as a note you will find again.

We make Capacities, so this guide uses it. The same idea works with other notes apps that have a ChatGPT connector, and our list of note-taking apps for ChatGPT and Claude covers them.

The short answer

1. In ChatGPT, open the plugin directory and search for Capacities. (OpenAI called it the app directory until July 2026.)
2. Click Connect, sign in to Capacities, and pick the space ChatGPT may use.
3. Ask a question that needs your notes, or say "save this to Capacities".

You need Capacities Pro to connect. The setup guide walks through each screen.

What ChatGPT can do once it is connected

Answer from your notes

Ask the way you would ask a friend who has read your notebook. ChatGPT searches your space, reads the notes that match, and answers from them. It links to the notes it used, so you can check.

Good questions to try:

• "What did I write about the renovation budget? Give me the total so far."
• "Which books have I finished this year? Make a table with the author and my rating."
• "I have a call with Maya at three. What did we agree on last time, and what is still open?"
• "Find my notes on the French Revolution and list the people who come up most."

Save what is worth keeping

At the end of a useful chat, tell ChatGPT what to keep. Ask for the essence, not the transcript.

• "Save the three main points as a short note in Capacities, linked to my Health page."
• "Store your last answer in my daily note and tag it #cooking."
• "Create a Book object for 'Thinking, Fast and Slow' with the author, and put your summary in the body."
• "Turn this plan into Capacities tasks for next week, one per day."

Our guide to saving AI chats as notes has a full routine and more prompts.

Keep things tidy

ChatGPT can also edit what is already there:

• "Set the status of my Book 'Deep Work' to finished."
• "Add today's decision to the end of my Launch plan page."
• "Rewrite the second paragraph of my cover letter draft to be shorter."

Every change is saved in the note's version history. If ChatGPT changes something you did not want, open the history and restore the earlier version.

How it works, in one paragraph

Capacities gives ChatGPT a small set of tools: search the space, read a note, create a note, edit a note, and save to today. ChatGPT decides when to use them while it answers you. It reads only what it looks up for your question, and only in the space you picked. Your notes are not uploaded or copied into ChatGPT. The technical name for this is MCP, the Model Context Protocol, and it is the same standard Claude, Cursor, and other assistants use. That is why the same notes work in all of them.

ChatGPT memory and Projects are not a replacement

ChatGPT already has two features that sound similar.

Memory is a short list of facts about you, plus what ChatGPT picks up from past chats. OpenAI's help page says it "does not retain every detail from every conversation", and that what it learns from chat history "can change as ChatGPT updates what is most useful to remember". You cannot open it as a page, link it to anything, or take it to another assistant.

Projects keep the chats and files for one long effort together. They are good for that. A project holds up to 5 files on Free and 25 on Plus, and it does not help you find what you learned in a different project last spring.

Your notes sit next to both. You decide what goes in. Every note is a page you can read and change. And if you also use Claude, or switch one day, the notes come with you.

Privacy and data

• ChatGPT reaches only the space you pick, and only reads what it looks up.
• You see every connection under Settings > AI Assistant in Capacities, and you can remove it there. Remove it in ChatGPT too.
• By default, ChatGPT reads without asking and asks before actions that change something. You can change that in ChatGPT's settings.
• OpenAI's data rules apply to what ChatGPT reads. On Free, Go, Plus, and Pro, OpenAI may use chats to improve its models if "Improve the model for everyone" is turned on. You can turn it off in ChatGPT's data controls. Business, Enterprise, and Edu are not used for training by default.
• Capacities stores your notes in the EU. Read more on our AI privacy page.

What it costs

You need Capacities Pro to connect. Your ChatGPT plan pays for the AI. The connection does not use your Capacities AI budget, so you are not paying for the same AI twice.

You can start your notes on the free plan and connect later.

Who should not use this

• If you only want ChatGPT to remember your preferences, its built-in memory is enough.
• If your notes live in a shared team workspace, a team tool fits better. Capacities is for one person.

How we wrote this guide

• We make Capacities, and every claim about it comes from our setup guide and MCP documentation.
• Facts about ChatGPT come from OpenAI's help center, read in October 2026: apps in ChatGPT, memory, and projects. The user numbers come from OpenAI (1.2 billion weekly users, September 2026) and the NBER study "How People Use ChatGPT" (2025).
• OpenAI changes plan rules often. If something here is out of date, email [email protected].