What this covers
Most people open Claude, ask it a question, and leave. The people who get real value out of it do three things first: they let Claude remember them, they bring over the context they already built somewhere else, and they spend fifteen minutes on the free training instead of guessing. This guide walks through all three, in order.
Who this is for: anyone starting fresh on Claude, or anyone who has been using it for months without ever touching Settings.
Turn on Claude's memory
By default, every new Claude chat starts from zero. Turning memory on is what lets Claude carry context between conversations instead of you re-explaining your business every time.
- a.Open Settings from the sidebar or your profile menu.
- b.Go to Memory. On some older accounts this section is still labeled Capabilities.
- c.Switch on Search and reference chats. This lets Claude look back through past conversations when something in your current chat needs that context.
- d.Switch on Generate memory from chat history. This is what actually builds your profile over time, rather than just searching old chats on demand.
Memory availability depends on your plan. If you don't see these toggles yet, check back after your next billing cycle or confirm your plan in Settings.
Import what ChatGPT already knows about you
If you have been using ChatGPT for a while, it has built up context on your business, your tone, and your recurring projects. You can hand that context to Claude directly instead of rebuilding it from scratch.
- a.In Claude, go to Settings → Memory and look for Import memory to Claude.
- b.Copy the extraction prompt Claude gives you on that screen.
- c.Open ChatGPT and paste that prompt into a new conversation.
- d.Copy ChatGPT's full reply. It should come back as a single block covering your instructions, preferences, projects, and recurring topics.
- e.Paste that reply into Claude's import box and confirm. Claude turns it into individual memories you can review or delete later.
Uploading your raw ChatGPT export file (conversations.json) directly into a Claude chat does not feed Claude's memory system. Use the prompt-and-paste method above instead. The export file is only useful if you want to attach it as a reference document inside a specific Claude Project.
It can take up to 24 hours for an import to fully integrate. Start a new chat and ask Claude "What do you know about me?" the next day to confirm it landed.
Find the right course on Claude Academy
Anthropic runs a free learning site called Claude Academy, covering everything from everyday prompting to building with the API. You do not need to work through all of it. You need the one or two lessons that match what you are actually trying to do.
- a.Go to the link below.
- b.Pick a starting track: Claude 101 for everyday use, Claude Code 101 if you touch code, Claude Platform 101 for the API, or AI Fluency: Framework & Foundations for a broader grounding.
- c.Once you have completed step 2, ask Claude to use what it now knows about you to point you to the specific lessons and Skills worth installing, instead of browsing the full catalogue yourself.
Claude Academy was rebuilt in August 2026. Course pages can now be read without signing in, and finishing a course now earns a completion badge rather than the downloadable certificate the earlier version offered.
Bonus: three prompts for your income plan
Once memory is on and Claude has real context on your business, these three prompts run in sequence: pick the offer and channel, build the 30-day plan around it, then plan how to compound it. Swap in your own number wherever you see [X].
Prompt 1: fastest path to your income goal
Forces a single offer and channel recommendation instead of a list of options.
Based on everything you know about me, what is the fastest way for me to hit my income goal of $[X]? Limit this to one offer and one channel only, and justify why you picked that offer and that channel over any other option.
Before you answer, ask me clarifying questions one at a time until you're 100% confident you understand my business. Don't move forward until you are.
Once you're confident, give me your answer in this order: the offer, the channel, why you rejected the next best alternative, and the single biggest risk to this plan. If my numbers don't support hitting $[X] in the timeframe I'm implying, tell me that directly instead of being encouraging about it.
Prompt 2: the 30-day plan
Turns the offer and channel from Prompt 1 into a sequenced daily plan, not a checklist.
Create a 30-day plan to hit that income goal using the offer and channel you just recommended. Structure it so I'm focused on one task per day, spending about 4 hours on it.
Don't give me a list of everything at once, sequence it so each day builds on the day before.
Group the 30 days into weekly phases and name what each phase is actually trying to prove (validation, momentum, conversion, etc). For each day, tell me what "done" looks like so I know if I actually finished the task or just spent time on it. Flag the 2-3 days most likely to get skipped and tell me why those specific ones matter.
Prompt 3: compounding it long term
For once the offer is working and you need a next stage, not a new strategy.
Once this is working and I've hit the income goal, what's the best way to compound this into long term, recurring income?
I don't want a totally new strategy, I want to know how to build on what's already working.
Tell me specifically what to keep doing exactly as is, what to systemize or delegate first, and what would only start making sense once income is stable. Give me one thing to watch that tells me it's time to move to the next stage, instead of me guessing when I'm ready.
FAQ
Memory has rolled out across Claude's paid plans and continues to expand. Check Settings on your own account to see what's currently available to you.
No. The process only copies information out of ChatGPT into Claude. Nothing on the ChatGPT side is changed or removed.
Up to 24 hours for everything to fully integrate. If it looks incomplete right away, wait a day and check again before redoing the import.
Yes. You can read lessons at anthropic.com/learn without signing in, or sign in with a Claude account to save progress and earn a completion badge.
Troubleshooting
| Issue | Fix |
|---|---|
| Can't find Memory in Settings | Look for a section labeled Capabilities instead. Older accounts still show it under that name. |
| ChatGPT's reply feels short or generic | Ask it directly to list stored memories and inferred preferences from past conversations in a single code block, not just a summary. |
| Imported memory isn't showing up in Claude | Give it 24 hours, then open a new chat and ask "What do you know about me?" before trying the import again. |
| Not sure which Academy course to start with | Start with Claude 101 if you're non-technical, or Claude Code 101 if you write code. Both are short. |
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