Ep 86 - Replicating A Document With ChatGPT

Summary

The ChatGPT Experiment – Ep 86: Replicating A Document With ChatGPT

Host: Cary Weston
Released: September 16, 2025

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Episode Overview

In this short, practical episode, Cary Weston tackles a frequent listener question:
How can you use ChatGPT to save time by replicating recurring documents, reports, or memos while maintaining flexibility and consistency?
He provides a step-by-step breakdown on transforming a repeatable document into an efficient ChatGPT-driven process, drawing on real-world tips and his signature, approachable teaching style.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The “80/20 Rule” of Document Work

• Cary connects the challenge of repetitive document creation to the classic “80% of the work is done by 20% of the people” dynamic often seen in organizations.
• Main theme: Reduce your workload by creating reusable document processes, just like the small group that does the bulk of the work in volunteering scenarios.
  [02:11] Cary Weston:

  "Good to be here talking about doing 80% of the work of 20% of the time. That's what today is about. It's about taking something that may be occupying your day... and putting some time into it, knowing it could be done faster."

2. The Foundation: Consistent Documents

• ChatGPT works best when you provide it with one or more versions of the same kind of document, using a consistent layout and format.

• Consistency enables ChatGPT to “reverse engineer” the structure and purpose behind each document, creating a flexible template or “recipe.”

  [04:09] Cary Weston:

  "If your document is different each and every time, it's hard to create a pattern... What ChatGPT needs to see is the consistency in the layout... so it can reverse engineer it... so it can understand it and create sort of a format map."

3. The Essential Four-Part Formula

Cary revisits his four-part prompt formula (covered in detail in the previous episode), summarized here:

1. What you're doing: Clearly tell ChatGPT about the task or document.
2. Why you're doing it: Explain the purpose behind the document.
3. What success looks like: Define the desired outcome (e.g., saving time, workflow consistency).
4. Interactive engagement: Ask, “Do you have any questions for me?” to encourage ChatGPT to clarify what it needs.

[05:14] Cary Weston:

"In summary, here's the four part formula. One, we need to tell it what we're doing, we need to tell it why we're doing it, we need to tell it what success looks like. And then we need to share. Do you have any questions for me? Because I want you to do your best work."

4. Pinpoint the Source of Your Information

Cary describes three primary sources for the content that fills your recurring documents:

• Meeting transcripts: If your document is based on meetings, use transcripts as input data. ChatGPT can be directed to extract required information from them.
• Other documents: Communicate if necessary data is found in related reports or sources—ChatGPT can synthesize the inputs.
• Your own knowledge (“in your head”): If key info lives in your notes or memory, have ChatGPT interview you to extract the details.

[07:06] Cary Weston:

"Typically it's either a meeting that we went to or it's another report... or it's in my head. Those tend to be the three answers that I get most often."

The Power of Meeting Transcripts

• Use recording tools (Fireflies, Zoom, Descript, etc.) to generate transcripts, then have ChatGPT pull structured content from these.
• [08:12] Cary Weston:

  "If you have a tool like Fireflies, or if you have your recording on Zoom, or you can use a paid subscription to Descript... you can get a transcript… then you are really going to have an efficient time here."

Extracting Info From Your Head

• Use ChatGPT’s voice mode for more natural, quick exchanges (“talk to it”).
• Let ChatGPT interview you for rapid data gathering—much quicker than typing a perfect document from scratch.
• [10:27] Cary Weston:

  "There is a voice mode in ChatGPT where it can ask you questions one at a time and you can answer back, just like I'm doing now... You just spit it out and ChatGPT can organize it into meaningful copy."

5. Save, Reuse, and Scale Your “Recipe”

• At the end, save the prompt/instructions for repeated use.

• Consider creating a Custom GPT or a dedicated ChatGPT project to automate document creation even further.

  [11:49] Cary Weston:

  "I want you to give me instructions that I can copy and paste into a document... That I can then use over and over again. When I need to create the document, I paste this into ChatGPT and off we go."

  [13:05] Cary Weston:

  "On the homepage is a free guide that says how to create a custom GPT. And that will walk you step by step on how to do what we're just doing..."

6. The Game Changer: Let ChatGPT Guide You

• Treat ChatGPT like “the amazing intern” you’re training—more context leads to better and more reliable results.

• Don't just automate data entry—involve ChatGPT in the thinking and organizing process for compound time savings and consistency.

  [14:02] Cary Weston:

  "If you can spend a few minutes up front, if you can have ChatGPT understand what you're building... then you can come to the table each and every time and do less, work faster, and get a more consistent output."

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Success is shaving time off the effort it takes to create this document.” — Cary Weston [06:29]
• “Each time I create this document, I want you to interview me with relevant questions. That will allow you to get the information out of my head and into your brain so you can make the document.” — Cary Weston [09:44]
• “The more background you can give it as to what you're doing, why you're doing it... the more value you are going to get out of what you're going to do with ChatGPT.” — Cary Weston [12:28]
• “Having it understand the purpose and then interviewing you to pull information out of your head really is a game changer.” — Cary Weston [14:07]

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Important Timestamps

• [02:11] — Intro: Why simplify repetitive work
• [04:09] — Why consistency in document format matters
• [05:14] — Introduction of the four-part formula
• [07:06] — Where document data comes from (transcripts, other docs, or your head)
• [08:12] — Using transcripts as source data
• [10:27] — Using ChatGPT’s voice mode for quick info dumps
• [11:49] — Building and saving reusable instructions/recipes
• [13:05] — Creating custom GPTs, free guide mentioned
• [14:02] — The payoff: less work, more output, and consistency

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Practical Takeaways

• Start with Consistency: Assemble one or more typical examples of your document for ChatGPT to analyze.
• Apply the Four-Part Formula: Clearly state the what, why, desired outcome, and invite ChatGPT to ask questions.
• Clarify Data Sources: Whether from transcripts, related documents, or your own knowledge, specify where input will come from.
• Voice Mode = Speed: Use ChatGPT’s voice feature for quick, conversational data transfer.
• Save Your Blueprint: Store your prompt/instructions for easy re-use and even automation through a Custom GPT.
• Invest a Few Minutes Up Front: Get clarity and establish a process that pays back in saved effort and consistent quality.

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Resources

• Free Guide: “How to Create a Custom GPT” at chatgptexperiment.com
• Contact and Training: More resources, downloadable guides, and contact at the same site

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Cary’s Sign-Off:
"Till we talk again, do stay curious. Okay? And we'll talk soon." [14:53]

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For those who want practical, beginner-friendly steps and a mindset shift in using AI for repeatable tasks, this episode delivers actionable strategies in Cary Weston’s trademark coach-like and encouraging tone.

Transcript

[Kerry Weston]

Hey, it's Kerry. Hey. This week we're going to cover a question I get quite frequently, which is how do I replicate this document, this report, this memo that I have to do over and over again using ChatGPT. I want to save time. I want to be easier. I want to be faster. I know there's a way. So do you have any tips? So this episode is about those tips. It's a short episode this week, so if that sounds interesting, please stick around and join me on the other side of the music. Hey there. Welcome to the ChatGPT experiment, the podcast designed to help you get some nuggets and learn a little bit more about ChatGPT for your personal or professional use. My name is Kerry Weston. I'm your host. Glad you're here. Fall is in full swing. My wife and I took our first turn volunteering in the snack shack at the high school football game last week. My first time working the grill. Very interesting. You know, as a sports parent, volunteering is something that doesn't happen enough. You know, there's certainly a lot of spectators, a lot of people involved, but volunteering is something that a lot of organizations, a lot of teams. Right. A lot of groups fall short on. And so we jumped in behind the grill just to help out, and very interesting to see how much work goes into making sure you get your doughboys and your fries and your burger on a Friday night.

[Podcast Guest or Co-host]

Right.

[Kerry Weston]

So have you jumped in? Does this feel familiar to you?

[Podcast Guest or Co-host]

Right.

[Kerry Weston]

And what was interesting is they said, you know, if every parent that was participating in school sports just served one hour of volunteer, there'd never be a problem.

[Podcast Guest or Co-host]

Right.

[Kerry Weston]

But usually, like most things, it ends up being 80% of the work being done by 20% of the people. Perhaps that's true of the organization, the workplace you're in, and you can certainly relate. But good to be here talking about doing 80% of the work of 20% of the time. That's what today is about. It's about taking something that may be occupying your day on a regular basis. A report, a document, a memo, something that you produce over and over again and put some time into it. And you know that it could be done faster, maybe you could delegate it, and you haven't taken the time to do that. And so this. This episode is about giving you some ideas on how to create a recipe, how to create a template, how to create a way in which something that you produce over and over again could be done with ChatGPT. Okay, so it's a question I get all the time. And I hope you find it useful. And if you do, please, I would appreciate a rating or review in the podcast platform of your choice. And as always, there are training materials, there are guides, there are ways of getting in touch with [e-mail] so, without further ado, let's get into the topic this week, which is replicating documents using ChatGPT. When it comes to using ChatGPT to replicate a document, this may seem like common sense, but the most important component to start with is the document itself. So the first thing I would say is if you want to use ChatGPT to create kind of a replicating example or a template that you can create a document over and over again, it's best to have at least one example, if not more than one, where you are using a consistent layout, a consistent format, so there is some sort of consistency that ChatGPT can see and analyze. Okay? So if your document is different each and every time, it's hard to create a pattern, it's hard to create a template. What ChatGPT needs to see is the consistency in the layout, the consistency in what goes where, let's say, so it can reverse engineer it, right? So it can understand it and create sort of a format map, if you will. What we're really doing is asking ChatGPT to understand what we've done in the past and set us up with a recipe that we can do it again in the future, more efficiently, faster, right, Easier. So I would say that the first thing to do is to find one or many of this document, this report, this memo, whatever it might be that you want ChatGPT to understand, and the first thing you're going to do is tell it. We're going to use the four part formula that I referenced last week. And if you haven't listened to the episode, it's a good precursor to a lot of the things that you do in ChatGPT. But in summary, here's the four part formula. One, we need to tell it what we're doing, we need to tell it why we're doing it, we need to tell it what success looks like. And then we need to share. Do you have any questions for me? Because I want you to do your best work. Okay, so in this case, let's say you have a document and it is consistent and you do this over and over again and it takes you some time. I had a conversation with a DA's office. I had a sheriff's office, a DA's office, and the county Administrator's office in a workshop last week and they were talking about all the paperwork that they do and all the repetitive things they have to do. And this is a great example where if you have something that looks the same over and over again, but the information inside is very variable, right? It changes. And this is a great way. So the first thing you're going to do is you're going to get those documents on your computer and you're going to tell ChatGPT, I am going to give you three versions or three copies or three examples of this document, of this report, and I want you to analyze it. I want you to understand the layout, the structure, the purpose.

[Podcast Guest or Co-host]

Right?

[Kerry Weston]

I want you to be able to take a look at it. Now, why are we doing this? I'm doing this because I want to work with you to reverse engineer this document to create a template so that we can make this report, this document faster over and over again. And success is shaving time off the effort it takes to create this document. Now, at this point you are going to say, do you have any questions for me? And I would imagine, and we can vanguard this if you want to. One of the questions is going to be, where is the information going to come from? Where is the variable here? So, yes, we can create a roadmap, a blueprint or recipe for the document that can be replicated, but where will the variable, where will the information come from that will create this document?

[Podcast Guest or Co-host]

Right.

[Kerry Weston]

So either be ready for that or you want to share that with ChatGPT. Okay, so here's the common answers. When I ask people when we have this conversation, typically it's either a meeting that we went to or it's another report, right? Taking two or three pieces of information and bringing it into one. Or it's in my head. Those tend to be the three answers that I get most often. So when I hear it's in a meeting, I want to know, is there a transcript of the meeting? So more meetings are being recorded. Now, is there an actual transcript? Because that is absolutely gold if you have the transcript. And by the way, if this report is always being generated from a meeting in which you will have a transcript, you can tell that to ChatGPT, and you're going to tell it that the information needed for this document is going to be pulled from the transcript. And I want you to understand how this document is made and what these sections represent, so you can go find that information from a transcript. Now, transcript is a written word that comes from recording either a video or audio Right. We can create a transcript. And by the way, if you have meetings that are recorded and you have an audio or a video with audio, then you can use free tools or you can use paid tools to take and create a transcript from. If you have a tool like Fireflies, or if you have your recording on Zoom, or you can use a paid subscription to Descript. There are ways in which you can easily take an audio or a video file from a recorded meeting or recorded anything and get a transcript from it. If you do that, then you are really going to have an efficient time here. Because if you can get ChatGPT to understand the document and the pieces of it and the why, by the way, then it can go and look at the transcript and pull that out. Okay, so if it's in my head. Okay, actually, let's go to the second one. It's in a few other pieces of information. Okay, great. You can tell ChatGPT the information that's going to go into this report is typically found in other documents. And when we go to use this template over and over again, you're going to need to ask me for those documents each time and I'll upload them. Then it's your responsibility to go find the information and put it in the right place. Okay, so whether we're using a transcript or whether we're using other pieces of information, again, something fairly consistent here because we're creating a recipe, then you want to tell that up front. This is where the information is going to come from.

[Podcast Guest or Co-host]

Okay?

[Kerry Weston]

If it's in your head, if it's a conversation that you have that's not recorded, and maybe you're working from notes, or maybe it's a summary of something, but it's in your head. Okay, here's what you can do. You can go through the same motion, tell it to deconstruct the report or the document to understand why it's there, what the sections represent, you know, why it's put together and how. And then you can say, each time I create this document, I want you to interview me with relevant questions. That will allow you to get the information out of my head and into your brain so that you can make the document.

[Podcast Guest or Co-host]

Right.

[Kerry Weston]

Now some people say, well, that's just as much work as doing it myself. Well, it could be, but here's the answer that saves me a lot of time. Do what I'm doing right now with ChatGPT, talk to it.

[Podcast Guest or Co-host]

Right.

[Kerry Weston]

There is a voice mode in ChatGPT where it can ask you questions one at a time and you can answer back, just like I'm doing now. A lot of people like to talk rather than type. They think faster than they can use their fingers. And you don't have to be perfect. You can just get stuff out of your head and let ChatGPT do the good work. Let it organize, let it create meaningful sentences, let it put it into a draft that maybe you can just edit. So instead of trying to make the perfect document and working on it for an hour, it could interview you for four minutes. You just ramble with no particular meaning to what you're saying other than the information that's mean. Perfect order doesn't have to be in perfect grammar. It doesn't have to be a finished product. You just spit it out and ChatGPT can organize it into meaningful copy.

[Podcast Guest or Co-host]

Right?

[Kerry Weston]

So let's just take a look again. We're going to use that four part formula. You can do this once. Tell ChatGPT what you're doing. I'm going to give you the report. I want to deconstruct it. I want you to understand it. Because success is me creating this faster and more efficiently than I'm doing it now. Then figure out where the data is going to come from and tell it. And then the end result of this is going to be a recipe and this is what you're going to tell it. I want you to give me instructions that I can copy and paste into a document.

[Podcast Guest or Co-host]

Okay.

[Kerry Weston]

That I can then use over and over again to go through this exercise. So when I need to create the document, I paste this into ChatGPT and off we go. And either you're sharing the resources or it's asking you the question, the more background. Again, let's go back to the amazing intern. You're training a person, so the more background you can give it as to what you're doing, why you're doing it, and have it understand its purpose, the more value you are going to get out of what you're going to do with ChatGPT. Okay, so you're going to save the output, right? You're going to save those instructions outside of ChatGPT in a document and bring it in each and every time you want to use it. Or if you want to create a custom GPT or a marketing project, then what you're pasting in that document and sharing over and over again, that just becomes the instructions. That becomes the instructions for the project or it becomes the instructions for the custom GPT. Okay, so if what I just said about a project or a Custom GPT sounds foreign to you, but it sounds like something you might want to try. Go to my website, chatgptexperiment.com and on the homepage is a free guide that says how to create a custom GPT.

[Podcast Guest or Co-host]

Okay.

[Kerry Weston]

And that will walk you step by step on how to do what we're just doing and then creating instructions so that you can replicate it over and over again. What you'll end up doing is creating what's called a custom GPT. So it's a singular focused entity inside ChatGPT whose only purpose is to help you create these, these documents over and over again. Okay, so you'll just say, let's go, let's create another one. And the brain will do the work. It'll go through the steps that you've given it, ask you the questions or ask you for the information.

[Podcast Guest or Co-host]

Right?

[Kerry Weston]

So this is something that, if you can spend a few minutes up front, if you can have chat GPT, understand what you're building on a consistent basis and understand what's in it and the style and the template, then you can come to the table each and every time and do less, work faster and get a more consistent output.

[Podcast Guest or Co-host]

Right?

[Kerry Weston]

So if you want to give that a shot, let me know if you have any questions. I would love to hear if any of you have trying this or if you've tried it before and you've got your own method. But really it's just going step by step using that four part formula that I gave you last week and having it understand the purpose and then the interviewing you to pull information out of your head really is a game changer. It really does change the way in which you can engage with ChatGPT because it knows what it needs and it's going to pull it out of you. Okay, so there you go. A kind of a quick overview on how to get a document template in ChatGPT that you can use over and over again. As always, thanks for listening. Reach out if you have any questions. Chatgptexperiment.com is the website. There is some training tools there, there's some downloadable guides, articles, tips, tools, all kinds of fun stuff. I would appreciate it if you get, if you find value here from the podcast, I really would appreciate a rating and review on your favorite podcast platform. Okay, well until then, till we talk again, do stay curious. Okay? And we'll talk soon.

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