Give the assistant a responsibility
OpenAI's dots documentation describes an assistant that can follow work over time. You can assign multiple ongoing responsibilities, provide sources, change priorities, and ask for updates without restarting every task in a new conversation. It can use connected apps and delegate parts of the work to ChatGPT Work or Codex. Source: Get started with your dot.
For a small engineering project, a useful example would be keeping track of release blockers. The task should name the repository or planning sources, define a blocker, and explain when a person should be notified.
“Help with releases” is hard to evaluate. “Review the release checklist each weekday, identify unresolved blockers, and draft an update for my review” gives the assistant a clearer target.
Connect only the context the work needs
Apps, messaging channels, and access to a local computer are separate connections. A messaging connection does not automatically provide access to an inbox or local files. The documentation also says that local computer work requires the device to stay online with the ChatGPT app open. Source: Dot setup and connections.
My suggested first task is small and easy to inspect: collect outstanding decisions from a single project source and produce a checklist. Compare it with the source before adding more responsibilities.
Review actions as well as answers
The Activity view lets you inspect progress, files, results, and requests for input. Automatic action review considers instructions, permissions, custom rules, and built-in requirements. OpenAI specifically distinguishes permission to draft a reply from permission to send it. Source: Control your dot.
That distinction is useful in a release workflow: drafting a status update and publishing it to a team channel have different consequences. State the destination and the action you authorize.
Keep recurring work explicit
For scheduled work, specify the time zone, frequency, duration, and update destination, then ask the dot to confirm the schedule. Ending a conversation does not necessarily stop assigned work. Pausing a dot, stopping delegated work, and canceling a schedule have different effects; review active work and recurring tasks separately. Sources: Scheduling guidance, stopping work.
The practical goal is an assistant whose responsibilities and results you can inspect. Start with one useful routine and expand after you understand its behavior.