When this workflow helps
If you are searching for how to build a GPT for internal SOP lookup, first decide who owns the result and where it will be used. A good draft saves preparation time only when the underlying facts are available and a person can inspect the output. This guide is for that specific deliverable; the Custom GPTs for Repeatable Business Tasks hub collects adjacent tasks.
Gather the source material
Current approved SOP library, version dates, owners, and permission boundaries. Use the current approved version. Remove details that the team is not permitted to place in an AI tool, or use a workspace and access controls approved for that data. Keep a link to the original material so reviewers can trace the result.
Build the first draft
Instruct the GPT to answer from retrieved procedures with document and section references, and to abstain when no current instruction exists. Start on one representative example, not the entire backlog. If a required fact is missing, ask for a marked gap rather than a plausible completion. Save the output as a draft with the source date and an assigned reviewer.
Starting prompt
Answer the employee's process question only from approved SOPs. Cite the document and section, state its effective date, and say when to ask the process owner.
Replace the example input with your own approved documents and specify the output format your team actually uses. Ask for a short list of uncertainties alongside the draft. Keep the source and output together during review so a polished sentence does not hide a missing fact.
Review before use
The process owner checks a sample of answers after every SOP revision; revoke outdated documents promptly. Check names, dates, figures, citations, and commitments against the originals. If a consequential decision or external communication is involved, the designated human owner makes the final call and follows the normal approval path.
Measure whether it worked
Track Questions answered with a valid citation and incidents caused by stale guidance. Compare a small set of completed examples with the previous process. Record corrections, not only time saved; a faster draft that creates rework is not an improvement. Revise the prompt when the same error appears twice.
Next steps
Return to Custom GPTs for Repeatable Business Tasks for related tasks, or use the AI business strategy pillar to decide where this workflow belongs in the wider business.