Use ChatGPT Plus for Ongoing Compliance Research

1. Open your browser and go to chat.openai.com
2. Sign in or create a free account
3. Click "New chat" to start a fresh conversation

What you should see: A clean chat interface with a text input box at the bottom.

Don't just paste documents without framing. Start each session by telling ChatGPT who you are and what you need:

1. In the message box, type and send: "You are helping me, a payroll specialist. I'll be sharing IRS notices, state tax bulletins, and compliance updates. For each one, summarize: (1) what changed, (2) the effective date, (3) what I need to update in our payroll system, and (4) any deadline for action. Always flag if this requires verifying with an official source."
2. ChatGPT will confirm it understands

What you should see: ChatGPT acknowledges the role and confirms the summary format you want.

1. Copy the full text of the notice or update you need to understand
2. In the chat, type: "Here is [notice name/description]. Please summarize it using the format above." Then paste the text.
3. If the notice is a URL (like an IRS webpage), with ChatGPT Plus you can paste the URL and it will attempt to read it

What you should see: A 4-point summary: what changed, effective date, payroll system action needed, action deadline.

After the summary, you can ask specific questions:

• "How does this affect an employee who has two jobs?"
• "Does this apply to our state (Ohio)?"
• "Write a one-paragraph summary I can email to my payroll manager."
• "What's the IRS form number for reporting this?"

1. ChatGPT can be wrong on specific dollar amounts, dates, and form numbers
2. After reading the summary, click the official source link from the original notice and confirm the key figures
3. Cross-check the action items with your payroll platform's compliance update log

What you should see: Confirmation that ChatGPT's summary matches the official source on the key facts. Troubleshooting: If ChatGPT gives a confident but wrong date or amount, paste the exact sentence from the official notice and ask it to re-read.