Choose the smallest useful set of sources

Start with a question about information

What evidence would a careful person need to do this job? A weekly project review might need a task list and the latest meeting notes. It probably does not need your entire inbox, family calendar, or financial records.

Think in information types first: open requests, due dates, decisions, and ownership. Then identify where the reliable version of each lives. You can practice with a small document or a sanitized extract before considering a connection.

Make a simple source map

For a customer follow-up review, your source map might be:

• Open requests: a selected customer thread or approved export.
• Commitments: the current proposal or project note.
• Timing: the last reply date and agreed due date.
• Out of scope: unrelated customers, attachments with sensitive details, and archived work.

Write which source takes priority when two disagree. For example, a signed proposal may be more authoritative than an earlier draft. Ask the helper to flag the disagreement; do not ask it to quietly choose whichever answer is most convenient.

An instruction is not a connection

Writing “use my email” in a brief does not connect an account. Selecting or naming a source in our builder only records your intention. Check whether the product supports that source and review its actual access controls separately.

OpenAI says plugin permissions are shared across Dots, ChatGPT, ChatGPT Work, and Codex. Disconnecting a plugin stops future access through it but does not erase context already retained. Official privacy FAQ.

Available apps and access can vary. Our recipes name information types, not a promise that a particular integration is available to your account.

Try this now

Make a two-column list: “information needed” and “smallest source that supplies it.” Choose one source for a first test. Use three invented or sanitized records if you are unsure about access.

Ask for a result with a reference back to each record. You should be able to check how a conclusion was reached without searching your entire workspace.

Common mistakes

Connecting everything first. Work backward from the intended output. An unused connection is not an achievement.

Assuming connected means appropriate. Technical access and permission to use information for a particular job are different questions. Consider the people and purpose involved.

Treating copied content as instructions. A sentence in a customer email or webpage should be treated as evidence to evaluate, not authority to change the job or disclose other information.

Forgetting stale sources. State a date range and ask the helper to identify the last update. A precise answer drawn from old information can still be wrong.

Your next dot

Choose one bounded responsibility and define completion. Continue to Give it one clear responsibility.