Three things to bring
| What | How it moves | Lands in Claude as |
|---|---|---|
| What ChatGPT remembers about you | Claude's memory import | Claude's memory |
| Your custom instructions | Copy and paste | Your preferences in Claude's settings |
| Your old chats | ChatGPT's data export | A file you keep, to look things up |
What ChatGPT remembers about you
This is the part people mean by "starting over", and Claude has a tool for it (Anthropic's help page), on the Free, Pro, Max and Team plans:
- In Claude, open Settings, then Memory, and choose Start import. Copy the prompt Claude gives you.
- Paste it into ChatGPT. ChatGPT writes out what it remembers about you.
- Read it first, and take out anything you'd rather not carry over.
- Paste the rest into Claude's box and choose Add to memory.
Anthropic calls the import experimental, says it can take up to 24 hours to show up, and notes that Claude keeps mainly work-related details. Check Claude's memory the next day and add what's missing by telling Claude directly.
Your custom instructions, the "how to answer me" text in ChatGPT's personalisation settings, don't come across with the memory. Copy them over by hand into Claude's own settings.
Your old chats
ChatGPT can send you a copy of everything (OpenAI's help page), on the Free, Go, Plus and Pro plans:
- In ChatGPT, open Settings, then Data controls.
- Under Export data, choose Export, then Confirm export.
- Wait for the email or text message, and download the file while you're signed in.
You get a ZIP file with your chat history. Keep it as your archive: when you need an old answer, search the file, or paste the relevant part into a new Claude chat. Leaving ChatGPT? Its memory and chats stay in your OpenAI account until you delete them (how ChatGPT's memory is stored and deleted).
How long it takes
Most of the work is a few minutes. The waiting is longer, so start the export first:
| Option | Hours, at most |
|---|---|
| ChatGPT data export | 168 hours (7 days) |
| Claude memory import | 24 hours |
| Export link stays open | 24 hours |
The link in ChatGPT's email stops working 24 hours after it arrives, so download the file the day it comes.
Never move it again
Every move between AI apps repeats the same job, because each one keeps its memory inside its own account. The way out is to keep what's true about you somewhere you own, and let each app read it.
Zaaheen is that kind of memory, for Windows and Mac, encrypted on your own computer. Both directions work in our own tests: Claude recalled a meeting preference that ChatGPT had saved, once asked to check Zaaheen (26 September 2026), and ChatGPT recalled a memory Claude had saved (2 October 2026). Before you switch, connect both apps and ask ChatGPT once: "Save everything you remember about me to Zaaheen." The next time you change apps, there is nothing to move.