Vanderbilt University

OpenAI GPTs: Creating Your Own Custom AI Assistants

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Vanderbilt University

OpenAI GPTs: Creating Your Own Custom AI Assistants

This course is part of multiple programs.

Dr. Jules White

Instructor: Dr. Jules White

Top Instructor

80,021 already enrolled

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Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.

790 reviews

Beginner level
No prior experience required
Flexible schedule
7 hours to complete
Learn at your own pace
97%
Most learners liked this course
Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.

790 reviews

Beginner level
No prior experience required
Flexible schedule
7 hours to complete
Learn at your own pace
97%
Most learners liked this course

Skills you'll gain

  • Category: Expense Reports
  • Category: AI Personalization
  • Category: System Testing
  • Category: Human Centered Design
  • Category: Expense Management
  • Category: Test Case
  • Category: Development Testing
  • Category: Responsible AI
  • Category: Retrieval-Augmented Generation
  • Category: Generative AI Agents
  • Category: Travel Arrangements
  • Category: Human Computer Interaction
  • Category: Prompt Patterns
  • Category: Interaction Design
  • Category: Tool Calling

Tools you'll learn

  • Category: Prompt Engineering
  • Category: ChatGPT
  • Category: OpenAI
  • Category: OpenAI API
  • Category: Generative AI

Details to know

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Assessments

6 assignments¹

AI Graded see disclaimer
Taught in English

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  • Gain a foundational understanding of a subject or tool
  • Develop job-relevant skills with hands-on projects
  • Earn a shareable career certificate

There are 3 modules in this course

In this module, you will learn the core concepts behind building custom GPTs, including how to shape a GPT’s behavior through instructions, add relevant external knowledge using retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), and bring these elements together into a more capable and personalized AI assistant. You will also explore how tools and actions expand what a custom GPT can do, and how frameworks such as CAPITAL, prompt patterns, and persona design can be used to shape its tone, behavior, and overall user experience.

What's included

7 videos4 readings2 assignments

In this module, you will learn how to make custom GPTs more reliable, useful, and human-centered by testing them systematically and designing better interaction patterns. You will explore how to build simple benchmarks and create meaningful test cases, including expected, ambiguous, and high-risk scenarios, to evaluate GPT performance over time. You will also examine techniques such as direct quotations, output templates, the Flipped Interaction Pattern, menu-based navigation, and feature toggles to structure responses, gather the right context, and guide users more effectively. Throughout the module, the focus is on building GPTs that support human reasoning, surface ambiguity, and direct users toward the right evidence, options, or human support when needed.

What's included

14 videos4 readings3 assignments

In this module, you will learn how to make custom GPTs safer and more reliable when users ask unclear, ambiguous, or risky questions. You will explore how to define boundaries and ‘escape valves’ so a GPT knows when not to answer directly, how to handle ambiguity, conflicting information, or gaps in knowledge sources and user prompts, and how to guide users more effectively through prompt patterns such as question refinement, alternative approaches, and cognitive verification. By the end of the module, you will understand how to design custom GPTs that remain helpful while reducing the risk of misleading, overconfident, or unsupported responses.

What's included

10 videos3 readings1 assignment

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Instructor

Instructor ratings
(255 ratings)
Dr. Jules White

Top Instructor

Dr. Jules White
Vanderbilt University
54 Courses1,218,180 learners

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Vanderbilt University

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Frequently asked questions

¹ Some assignments in this course are AI-graded. For these assignments, your data will be used in accordance with Coursera's Privacy Notice.