Turning Intake Questionnaires into a Pre-Session Brief with ChatGPT

Projects keep a set of instructions and files together so you're not re-explaining the task every time.

1. Sign in at chatgpt.com.
2. Look for Projects in the sidebar and click to create a new one.
3. Name it something clear, like "Intake Briefs."

What you should see: An empty project workspace with a place to add instructions and a place to start chats within it.

1. Open the project's instructions or custom instructions field.
2. Write a short, reusable instruction describing what you want every time you paste in a new intake response: a half-page summary pulling out the client's top stated goals, any scheduling or logistical constraints, and anything that looks like a red flag worth raising on the chemistry call.
3. Save the instructions.

What you should see: The instructions attached to the project, applying automatically to every new chat you start inside it. Troubleshooting: If ChatGPT's summary reads too generic the first time, tighten the instructions with an example of the kind of language you want ("write for someone who has thirty seconds before the call starts, not a formal report").

1. Open your intake questionnaire tool (your client portal, Google Form responses, or the emailed document) and copy the client's full response.
2. Inside your "Intake Briefs" project, start a new chat.
3. Paste the response directly into the message box, with a short note: "Here's the new intake response, summarize it per the project instructions."

What you should see: ChatGPT returns a half-page brief within a few seconds: stated goals, constraints, and anything worth flagging.

1. Read the summary against the full intake response, especially anything you plan to open the call with.
2. Adjust anything that misreads the client's intent. Intake answers are often written quickly and can be ambiguous.

What you should see: A brief you'd be comfortable glancing at thirty seconds before joining the call.

1. Copy the finished brief into wherever you keep client records, whether that's a document, a spreadsheet row, or your practice platform.
2. Delete the chat inside ChatGPT once you've saved what you need, if you'd rather not keep client-identifying detail sitting in your chat history.

What you should see: The brief filed alongside the client's other intake material, and a tidier chat history if you chose to clean it up.