Guide · Updated August 2026
Switch from ChatGPT to DeepSeek without starting over
DeepSeek is the hardest switch of all, for one reason: it has no import feature, no memory, and no custom instructions — nothing persists between conversations. Every chat starts from zero. That makes the working path here different in emphasis, not in shape: export your data from ChatGPT (Settings → Data controls → Export data; the download link arrives by email and expires after 24 hours), distill that history into one compact, fully self-contained document, and paste or attach that document at the start of every DeepSeek conversation that matters. It isn't a one-time setup like Gemini or Grok — the document is the memory DeepSeek doesn't have, so it earns its keep every single chat. What transfers is the substance of your work: projects, preferences, decisions, people, and how you like answers written. This guide walks each step and ends with the usual suggestion: run both assistants for two weeks before you commit.
Step 1 — Export your ChatGPT data
- In ChatGPT, open Settings → Data controls.
- Click Export data and confirm.
- OpenAI emails you a download link — it expires after 24 hours, so download the ZIP promptly.
Every export option, timing, and troubleshooting: full ChatGPT export walkthrough →
Step 2 — What transfers, what doesn't
- Transfers as context: who you are, your projects and their state, preferences, standing instructions, people and companies, decisions, writing style.
- Needs manual rebuild: Projects and custom GPTs — DeepSeek has nothing to receive them, so their instructions live in the context document and get pasted into a dedicated chat per project.
- Doesn't transfer: the conversations themselves — DeepSeek can't ingest a chat archive.
Step 3 — Get your context into DeepSeek
A. First message of a chat Free · every chat
DeepSeek has no custom instructions and no memory — nothing persists between conversations. So the working pattern is simple: paste the document as the first message of any conversation that matters, and DeepSeek is fully briefed for that chat.
B. Attach it as a file Free · tidy
Save the document as a Markdown file and attach it at the start of a chat instead of pasting. Same effect, cleaner conversation. Keep the file somewhere handy — it's the memory DeepSeek doesn't have.
C. Build the document from your full history Complete
Upload your ChatGPT export ZIP as-is. Every conversation is analyzed and distilled into one self-contained context document — which matters more for DeepSeek than for any other assistant, because the document is the only memory it gets.
Where each ChatGPT thing lives in DeepSeek
| In ChatGPT | DeepSeek equivalent |
|---|---|
| Custom Instructions | No equivalent — the top of your context document plays this role |
| Memory (stored facts) | No equivalent — the document is DeepSeek's memory, pasted per chat |
| A Project with instructions + files | A dedicated chat with the project's context pasted first |
| Custom GPTs | No equivalent — their instructions become pasted context |
| Conversations | Not importable — distill them into a context document instead |
Run both for two weeks before you commit
Keep your ChatGPT account alive during the transition. Before you cancel anything: your export ZIP is downloaded and stored, the instructions from your important custom GPTs and Projects are saved somewhere, and a week of real work has gone through DeepSeek without you reaching back for ChatGPT — the only test that matters.
Frequently asked questions
Does DeepSeek have an import feature for ChatGPT data?+
No. DeepSeek can't ingest a ChatGPT export, and it has no memory to import into. Your context comes in the way everything does: pasted or attached at the start of a conversation.
Does DeepSeek have memory or custom instructions?+
No — as of 2026, nothing persists between DeepSeek conversations: no memory, no custom instructions, no stored preferences. Every chat starts from zero. That's exactly why a portable context document matters more here than anywhere else: it becomes the memory DeepSeek doesn't have.
So I have to paste the document into every chat?+
Into every chat where the context matters, yes — as the first message or as an attached file. It takes a few seconds and beats re-explaining yourself. Casual one-off questions don't need it.
Do my custom GPTs and Projects transfer to DeepSeek?+
There's nothing to transfer them into — DeepSeek has no projects, agents, or instructions feature. Their substance survives in the context document, organized per project, and you paste the relevant part into a dedicated chat when you work on that project.
Can I move my DeepSeek history out later?+
This tool takes ChatGPT and Claude exports as input today, so DeepSeek is a destination, not yet a source. The document you paste in is plain Markdown though — keep a copy and you can hand it to any assistant.
Coming from Claude instead? · ChatGPT → Mistral · ChatGPT → Claude