You Can Ask ChatGPT to Generate Downloadable Files (CSV, JSON, XML, and More)

And that's great for reusing file templates

ChatGPT (and somehow Perplexity, Gemini, and Claude) are not just for chatting or writing summaries.
You can ask them to generate full files.

However, only ChatGPT creates actual downloadable files you can use immediately. And not just text blobs. I’m talking about real files like:

• .csv → spreadsheets

• .json → configs or data exchange

• .html → web pages

• .xml, .yaml → structured data

• .ics → calendar invites

• .sql → database dump scripts

• .ini / .env → config files

• .md → documentation

• .txt → anything free-form

• .svg → vector graphics

We are talking about non-binary files — meaning they’re plain text under the hood, but serve specific formats.

You describe the structure you want, and the AI writes it.

Example prompt:

“Create a CSV file with 100 fake product orders including columns for order_id, product_name, price, quantity, total, and order_date. Format the response as a downloadable file.”

Or it can be more specific with values:

“Create a CSV file with 100 fake product orders. Each row should include the following columns:

• order_id: Unique numeric ID starting from 1001

• product_name: Randomly chosen from a list of at least 20 different realistic product names (e.g., ‘Wireless Mouse’, ‘Bluetooth Speaker’, etc.)

• price: Float between 10.00 and 500.00 (rounded to 2 decimal places)

• quantity: Integer between 1 and 10

• total: Computed as price * quantity, rounded to 2 decimal places

• order_date: Random date between Jan 1, 2023 and Dec 31, 2023 in YYYY-MM-DD format

Format the output as a downloadable CSV file named fake_orders.csv.”

I tried these prompts in Gemini, Claude, Perplexity, and ChatGPT.

Gemini and Perplexity:

They generated the data in the conversation allowing me to copy them, but could not generate a downloadable file for me.

Perplexity went too far by creating me a web app that generates CSV files. That’s like taking a ferry to go buy bread.

Claude:

Claude also could not get it right. The best it could do was to generate CSV data in a downloadable .txt file which is kind of okay, but not ideal.

ChatGPT:

Only ChatGPT could create a downloadable CSV file. And it does this for other types of non-binary files.

When can this be useful

One particular use case for this would be when you want to follow a particular file template. You can upload that template to ChatGPT and tell ChatGPT to generate the same file with different data.

This replaces a bunch of tedious work.
Let me know if you want ready-made prompts for your role or workflow. I have a batch ready.