Open ChatGPT, go to Scheduled in the left sidebar, and create a new task by writing what you want and when — for example, 'Every weekday at 8 a.m., give me a two-paragraph news summary.' ChatGPT runs the task on schedule and sends the result to your phone as a push notification. Plus users can have 5 active tasks at once, Pro and Enterprise users 15.
If you've ever wished you could get a short briefing every morning without lifting a finger, ChatGPT can now do that for you. The Scheduled Tasks feature — which relaunched with a dedicated sidebar section in June 2026 — lets you write a one-sentence instruction once, set a time, and have ChatGPT deliver the result to your phone automatically, day after day. No app-building, no code, no complicated setup. Just tell it what you want and when.
How to Create Your First Scheduled Task
Open ChatGPT and find the Scheduled section
In the ChatGPT app on your phone (or at chatgpt.com in a browser), look for Scheduled in the left sidebar. On a phone, tap the menu icon in the top-left corner to open the sidebar first. This section was added in the June 2026 update — if you don't see it, make sure your app is up to date.
Start a new task
Tap or click New task (or the plus icon near the top of the Scheduled section). ChatGPT opens a short form asking for two things: what you want it to do, and when you want it done.
Describe what you want in plain language
Write your task in one or two sentences, the same way you'd ask a friend for help. You don't need any special format or commands. A few examples you can copy and adapt:
Every weekday at 8 a.m., give me a two-paragraph summary of the most important world news today.
Every Sunday evening, suggest three simple dinner ideas for the week ahead.
Every Monday morning, give me five Spanish words to practice, with an example sentence for each.
ChatGPT reads your description and interprets it — write whatever feels natural.
Set the schedule
Type when you want the task to run, in plain language: "every weekday," "every Monday at 9 a.m.," "once a week on Friday at noon," or whatever fits your routine. ChatGPT confirms back what it understood, so you can catch any misreading before saving.
One limit to be aware of: tasks can run at most about once per hour. If you try to schedule something more frequently, ChatGPT will let you know.
Turn on push notifications (one-time setup)
If this is your first task, ChatGPT will ask permission to send you push notifications — that's how the results arrive on your phone. Tap Allow when the prompt appears. If you're on a desktop browser, click Allow in the browser's permissions pop-up.
If you accidentally clicked "Block," you can fix it in your phone's Settings app under the ChatGPT entry, or in your browser's site settings for chatgpt.com.
Save the task and wait for the first delivery
Tap Save (or Create task). Your new task appears in the Scheduled sidebar with its next run time shown below it. When that time comes, you'll get a push notification on your phone — tap it to open ChatGPT and read the full response.
Everyday Recipes Worth Trying
Once you know how to create a task, adding new ones takes under a minute. Here are a few genuinely useful ones to get you started:
Morning news digest
Every weekday at 7:30 a.m., summarize the three most important world news stories in two sentences each. Keep it factual and brief.
Weekly budget check-in
Every Friday evening, ask me three short questions about my spending this week to help me notice any patterns.
Meal planning prompt
Every Sunday morning, suggest a five-day dinner plan using simple, affordable ingredients. Include one vegetarian option.
Medication refill reminder
Every Thursday, remind me to check whether any of my prescriptions need refilling in the next week or two.
This kind of reminder can be a helpful nudge — but ChatGPT is not a medical device and has no access to your pharmacy, health records, or dosing schedule. For anything health-critical, keep your doctor's instructions and a dedicated alarm as your primary safety net.
Daily stretch or hydration reminder
Every day at 11 a.m., remind me to stand up, stretch for two minutes, and drink a glass of water.
Language learning practice
Every morning at 8 a.m., give me five words or phrases in French to practice today, with a short example sentence for each.
Managing Your Tasks: Pausing, Editing, and Deleting
All your tasks live in the Scheduled sidebar. From there you can:
- Pause a task without deleting it — useful when you're on vacation or a recurring task isn't relevant for a few weeks
- Edit the description or timing — tap the task, make your changes, and save again
- Delete a task permanently — tap the task and choose Delete
One thing to know: if you receive several notifications from a task without tapping any of them, ChatGPT will automatically pause that task to avoid sending alerts you're not reading. You'll see it marked as paused in the Scheduled section, and you can re-enable it whenever you want.
Task Limits by Plan
How many tasks you can run at once depends on your ChatGPT subscription:
| Plan | Active tasks |
|---|---|
| Go | 3 |
| Plus | 5 |
| Pro / Enterprise | 15 |
If you've reached your limit, pause or delete an existing task to make room. You can't use uploaded files, documents, or Custom GPTs inside a scheduled task — it runs on ChatGPT's general knowledge only. And tasks can run no more frequently than about once per hour.
What to Watch Out For
ChatGPT doesn't have access to real-time information by default. Scheduled tasks work best for analysis, ideas, language practice, and text-based reminders — not for live weather, current stock prices, or sports scores. If ChatGPT can answer the question right now without browsing the web, it will work well as a scheduled task too.
It's a convenience tool, not a critical reminder system. Push notifications can be delayed by your phone settings, a poor signal, or a brief ChatGPT service outage. For deadlines that truly matter — medication times, legal filings, important appointments — use a phone alarm or calendar event as your backup.
Keep task descriptions free of sensitive data. What you type into a task description is stored and processed by OpenAI each time the task runs. Avoid including account numbers, passwords, medical details, or other private information.
When a phone alarm is simply the better tool. If you just need a nudge to take action — leave for an appointment, take a pill, call someone back — a phone alarm or calendar entry is simpler, faster, and works without an internet connection. ChatGPT Scheduled Tasks are most useful when you want a response, not just a ping: a digest, a set of suggestions, or a short analysis waiting for you when you wake up.
What to Try Next
For more ideas on what to ask ChatGPT with well-written prompts, 100 Things to Ask ChatGPT has a wide range of copy-and-paste starting points. And if you haven't installed the ChatGPT app on your phone yet — which is where the push notifications land — How to Set Up the ChatGPT App walks you through it in just a few minutes.
