Hello my friends — in this video I break down what I think is the best AI portfolio project for instructional designers right now: building a CustomGPT. Most ID portfolios are still packed with generic eLearning samples that “tell” instead of “show.” A CustomGPT is different because it can solve a real-world performance problem, demonstrate AI fluency, and showcase your instructional design thinking — without you needing to spend months learning to code. I walk you through what CustomGPTs are (a tailored AI assistant built on top of ChatGPT), the kinds of use cases they’re great for (role-play practice, on-demand knowledge bases, and ongoing coaching support), and why hiring managers are increasingly looking for this kind of work as AI-forward L&D roles pop up. Then I show my exact build approach using a real example from my Instructional Design Project Lab: a role-play where learners practice uncovering a business goal from a stakeholder who’s a bit cagey with metrics. Finally, I share how I structure the prompt (role, goal, audience, rules, guidelines, criteria, context), how to iterate through testing, and why the write-up is 50% of the portfolio value. If you want a project that’s fast to build but massively impactful in 2025, this is it.