What shipped
Scheduled tasks let ChatGPT run a prompt on a schedule and notify you with the result. On Aug 25, 2026, OpenAI opened them to Free users: up to three active tasks, running once or recurring no more than once a day, in flexible time windows like morning, afternoon or night. Paid plans get more tasks and exact times (5 on Plus, 15 on Pro).
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Why it matters
"What do I post this week?" is the question that kills most small-business social media. A task that shows up every Monday with ideas tied to the season and your services removes the blank-page moment.
Steps
- Open ChatGPT on the web or in the mobile app. (Create it on your phone if you want push notifications there.)
- Paste the prompt below into a new chat, with your details filled in. You can also go to Scheduled in the sidebar and create the task there.
- ChatGPT confirms the task and its schedule. Check that it says weekly on Monday, in the morning window.
- Turn on notifications: Settings, then Notifications, then choose Push, Email or both for tasks. Allow browser notifications if asked.
- Next Monday, open the result, pick one or two ideas and go shoot them.
- To change it later, open Scheduled in the sidebar, select the task and edit, pause or delete it.
Ideas for your other two free slots
- First of every month, morning: "List 3 things a [TYPE OF BUSINESS] in [CITY] should update on its Google Business Profile this month (hours, photos, seasonal services), with one sentence each."
- Every Friday, afternoon: "Remind me to send a review request to every customer we finished a job for this week, and give me a short, friendly text I can send them." Send it to every customer. Google's Maps content policy says businesses shouldn't selectively ask only happy customers for reviews or discourage negative ones.
Copy-paste prompt
Prompt
Every Monday morning, send me 5 social media post ideas for [BUSINESS NAME], a [TYPE OF BUSINESS] in [CITY]. About us: we offer [SERVICES]. Our customers are [WHO]. Our tone is [TONE]. Base the ideas on that week's date: season, weather patterns typical for [CITY] this time of year, holidays or local events you can confirm, and common customer questions for a business like ours. For each idea give me: - A hook (first line of the post), under 12 words - What to film or photograph, in one sentence, using things we'd actually have on a job - Which service it points to Keep it short. No hashtags. Don't invent promotions or prices.
Common mistakes
- Putting private info in the task. OpenAI warns that if you share a task, anyone with the link can read its full instructions. Keep customer names, account numbers and passwords out.
- Creating it inside a project and expecting it to read your project files. Tasks created in a project can't access that project's uploaded files, so put key details in the prompt itself.
- Asking for an exact time on Free. Free tasks run in flexible windows; exact times and hourly schedules need a paid plan.
- Using it in voice chat or with a GPT. Scheduled tasks don't support either.
- Treating ideas as facts. If it mentions a local event, confirm the date before you post about it.
