Step 1 — Set it all up

Every setting in one place, so nothing trips you up later. Do these on a computer, not your phone. Have your AI login and your business Google or Microsoft login handy.

• If you use Claude: Use a paid plan (Pro or higher).
• If you use ChatGPT: Use a paid plan (Plus or higher).

On a team or brokerage account? Your admin may have turned some features off. If a setting below is missing, ask them.

Make one folder in Google Drive and name it AI Setup — [Your Name]. No Google Drive? Make the same folder on your computer.

This is where you keep your copies of everything you build. Making a folder doesn't give your AI access to it. You'll add the specific documents to your Project in Step 3.

Already have a Brand DNA document or a business overview? Put it in the folder. You'll hand it to the interview in Step 2 instead of starting over.

Logos, brand colors (hex codes), and fonts can go here too, if they're handy. Don't stop the course to go find them.

Memory lets your AI carry what it learns about you from chat to chat. File creation lets it hand you finished documents to download — so you stop copying garbled text out of a chat window.

"It actually remembers what happened on Tuesday by the time Wednesday hits."

— Rebecca Green

• If you use Claude: Memory: Settings → Memory (some accounts still show it under Settings → Capabilities). Turn on Generate memory from chats and Search and reference chats. File creation: Settings → Capabilities. Turn on file creation.
• If you use ChatGPT: Memory: Settings → Personalization → Memory. Turn on the memory settings you see. File creation: nothing to turn on. ChatGPT makes files on its own.

Memory helps, but it isn't a filing cabinet. Anything that has to be right lives in your documents and instructions — that's what Steps 2 and 3 build.

Instructions tell your AI who you are and how to work with you — every chat, every time. Most people go straight to opening a chat and never set them up, which means every conversation starts cold. It's like expecting a stranger to know you like an old friend.

You don't write them here. The interview in Step 2 writes them for you from your answers. Then you paste them into your settings.

"Set it once. Now every conversation you ever start already knows who you are, before you say a word."

— Rebecca Green

Right now, you are the integration layer. To use AI, you copy your business in. You copy the work back out. That copy-paste tax costs you time — and it's where the mistakes happen.

Hire the assistant. Hand over the keys. Connecting your email, calendar, and files lets your AI read your inbox, your real calendar, and your files, so it works from what's actually there. It drafts. You send. The instructions you write in Step 2 will tell it exactly that.

"AI is every assistant you ever wanted. And then some. But assistants can't help if you never give them the keys."

— Rebecca Green

• If you use Claude with Google: Settings → Connectors (newer versions: Customize → Connectors). Connect Gmail, then Google Calendar, then Google Drive.
• If you use Claude with Outlook: Settings → Connectors (newer versions: Customize → Connectors) → Microsoft 365. One connection covers Outlook email, your Outlook calendar, and OneDrive. It needs a Microsoft 365 work account — personal @outlook.com or @hotmail.com addresses won't connect — and your IT admin may have to approve it the first time. Saving drafts into Outlook from Claude also needs your admin to turn that on.
• If you use ChatGPT with Google: Settings → Plugins (older app versions say Apps). Find and connect Gmail, then Google Calendar, then Google Drive.
• If you use ChatGPT with Outlook: Settings → Plugins (older app versions say Apps). Find and connect Outlook Email, then Outlook Calendar. Add OneDrive if it's listed.

Rebecca's note: I prefer Google Workspace for a million reasons.

This is why I don't love Outlook: Claude only connects to a Microsoft 365 work account, not a personal @outlook.com or @hotmail.com address. An IT admin has to approve the connection once. And saving drafts into Outlook from Claude needs your admin to turn that on, too.

At the Google or Microsoft sign-in screen, check the email address before you click anything. Connect the wrong account and your AI reads the wrong life. Approve the access it asks for.

You connect once. Every Project you build uses the same connection. If access expires or you switch accounts, reconnect.

What "draft" means in this course: reply text in the chat, for you to review. Saving a draft into Gmail or Outlook is a separate ask. Nothing in this course sends an email or changes your calendar.

Not on Google or Microsoft 365, or your connection's blocked? You can still finish. Use the manual option: when a lesson asks your AI to check your email or calendar, paste in the email or the schedule yourself.

Open a brand-new chat and send these one at a time:

Use my connected email. Find the most recent email from [someone who emailed me this week]. Give me the sender, date, subject line, and a link to it. If you can't access it, tell me. Don't guess.

Use my connected calendar. Tell me which calendars you can see. Show tomorrow's appointments in [my time zone], with the calendar name for each. Don't create or change anything.

Check both against the real thing. You didn't tell it your schedule. It looked. That's the integration layer — the you-in-the-middle step — gone.

Missing something? Check which account you connected and which calendars it can see. An empty answer doesn't mean an empty inbox — it can mean no access. Fix it and test again.

Up next: Step 2 — The interview