What Are ChatGPT Plugins? How to Use Them (2026 Guide)
ChatGPT plugins are add-ons that expand what ChatGPT can do. Each plugin bundles skills (reusable instructions), connected apps (links to services like Slack or Google Drive) and tools for a specific task. Install one from the plugin directory and ChatGPT uses it automatically when relevant. Plugins replaced custom GPTs, which retire on 11 December 2026.
What are ChatGPT plugins?
ChatGPT plugins are the add-ons that connect ChatGPT to your tools, files and workflows, so it can act on them instead of only talking about them. A plugin can hold a skill with your reusable instructions, connect to an app like Slack or Google Drive, or add an interactive panel you work in directly. You install plugins from a built-in directory, and ChatGPT uses them whenever they are relevant.
The feature matters right now because OpenAI is retiring custom GPTs, the mini chatbots people built over the past two years, and moving everyone to plugins. Custom GPTs stop working on 11 December 2026, so guides written even a few months ago describe a product that is already changing. This guide covers what plugins are, how to install and use them, and what the change means for you.
By the end you will know how to pick a plugin from the directory, connect its apps and even build your own. For background on what each subscription includes, our guide to ChatGPT plans and what each tier includes is a good companion read.
In this guide:
What can a ChatGPT plugin contain?
Think of a plugin as a small app that lives inside ChatGPT. Each one is built from a few standard parts, and a plugin can include any mix of them.
Skills
Skills are reusable instructions. A skill might describe how to format a weekly update, the tone to use for customer replies, or the steps in a process you repeat. Skills need no external service, so they work wherever you use ChatGPT.
Connected apps
Connected apps link ChatGPT to an outside service such as Slack, SharePoint, Airtable or Google Drive. The app lets ChatGPT read information or take supported actions on that service, within limits you approve. One plugin can include several apps, or none at all.
Extensions
Extensions give a plugin an interface of its own. A plugin can get a dedicated home in the ChatGPT sidebar, interactive panels you use while chatting, and file viewers for the formats its tools rely on. OpenAI announced these app-like interfaces at its DevDay in September 2026.
The directory also shows an OpenAI Verified badge on plugins OpenAI has reviewed for quality, reliability and usefulness. A badge is a signal of care, not a security audit, so check what a plugin asks to connect before you install it.
How to install a ChatGPT plugin
Installing a plugin takes a minute or two. The steps are the same on the ChatGPT website, the desktop app and mobile, though some plugins carry a desktop only label.
Open the Plugins section in the ChatGPT sidebar.
Browse categories such as Popular and New & Noteworthy, or search for the tool you need.
Open the plugin and review its included apps, skills and setup requirements.
Select Install plugin. Installation may start the setup or authorisation flow.
Select Connect for any app that needs account authorisation, then sign in to that service.
Ask ChatGPT something the plugin handles and check that it responds as expected.
The directory has four views worth knowing:
Public: plugins anyone can install
Your workspace: your organisation's own directory
Personal: plugins you created or that others shared with you
Installed: what you already have
How to use a plugin in a chat
You rarely need to switch a plugin on by hand. ChatGPT uses your installed plugins automatically when your request matches what a plugin covers. Automatic selection is not guaranteed, so there are three direct routes when you want a specific one:
Type an @ mention and pick the plugin by name.
Select the plus button in the composer, enter the plugin's name and choose it.
Select Plugins in the composer and pick from your installed list.
Plugins also handle automation. You can ask ChatGPT to prepare a daily summary or check a service for updates every hour, and some plugins support events, where ChatGPT reacts when something happens, such as a document changing or a reply landing in a thread. For a wider look at ChatGPT taking actions on your behalf, our guide to What Is ChatGPT Agent Mode? is worth reading.
What happened to custom GPTs?
Custom GPTs, the mini chatbots anyone could build and share, are on their way out. OpenAI announced the change in September 2026: creating new custom GPTs ends on 26 October 2026, and existing ones stop working on 11 December 2026. Enterprise workspaces with an approved deferral keep theirs until 11 February 2027.
If you built a GPT, migration moves most of it across. Your instructions become a skill inside the new plugin, your knowledge files are copied into its reference files, and your connected apps are added as apps. Your past conversations stay accessible after the change.
Three things do not transfer. The model you selected does not carry over, custom actions need rebuilding, and the replacement starts private, so people who used your GPT do not automatically get the plugin. If you only used someone else's GPT, watch for a notice from its creator about a replacement.
Can you build your own plugin?
Yes, and the barrier is low. Install Plugin Creator from the directory, then start a chat with @plugin-creator and describe what you want. A prompt like 'Create a plugin that gathers progress from Slack and drafts a weekly update' is enough to produce a working draft.
A new plugin starts private. You test it, then share it with specific people or publish it to your workspace directory, if your workspace allows that. Anyone on any ChatGPT plan can build one, though workspace admins control what members can install, upload or share.
Plugins sit alongside ChatGPT's other organisational features. Our guide to what ChatGPT Projects are explains how to keep long-running work in one place.
Privacy and permissions
Installing a plugin never grants access on its own. Any included app still needs its own authorisation, and a plugin cannot reach beyond what your account on that service already permits. Installation does not bypass your workplace permissions either.
In a managed workspace, administrators decide a lot: whether plugins are available at all, which apps are enabled, and whether members can share or upload their own. Business workspaces have apps enabled by default, and Enterprise admins can set rules per role.
If something misbehaves, you can disable a plugin from your workspace settings. Disabling a plugin does not always disable the apps inside it, because a shared app may serve several plugins. Read the warning on screen before confirming.
Frequently asked questions
Are ChatGPT plugins free?
The plugin directory is available across ChatGPT plans, and browsing costs nothing. Whether you can install a specific plugin depends on your plan, workspace and region. Some plugins connect to paid services, and those subscriptions are separate from ChatGPT.
What is the difference between a plugin and a connected app?
An app connects ChatGPT to one external service, such as Slack or Google Drive. A plugin is the wrapper: it can hold one or more apps, plus skills and extensions, for a complete task. Some plugins include only skills and connect to nothing.
Do plugins replace custom GPTs?
Yes. Custom GPTs retire on 11 December 2026, and OpenAI's migration tool turns a GPT's instructions into a plugin skill, copies its knowledge files and reconnects its apps. Model selection and custom actions do not transfer automatically.
Does ChatGPT use plugins automatically?
Often. When your request matches a plugin's description, ChatGPT can select it without being asked. That is not guaranteed, so use an @ mention or the plus menu when you need a specific plugin.
Why can't I find a plugin I was told about?
Plugins vary by plan, region and workspace. A plugin restricted by an admin can still appear in the directory, marked as disabled. In a workplace, ask your administrator to check availability and the installation policy.
Can I create a plugin without coding?
Usually, yes. Install Plugin Creator and describe what you want in plain English. Skills need no code at all. Plugins that must reach an internal system may need a custom MCP server, which does involve technical setup.
The bottom line
ChatGPT plugins turn the assistant from a brilliant conversationalist into a hands-on tool. They carry your instructions, reach into your services and increasingly give you a place to work inside the chat itself. With custom GPTs retiring on 11 December 2026, plugins are now the standard way to customise ChatGPT, and OpenAI is treating them as a platform rather than a side feature.
Install one or two that match work you already do and see how much friction they remove. Then explore more ChatGPT guides on whatischatgpt.co.uk.
References
OpenAI Help Centre: Plugins in ChatGPT
OpenAI Help Centre: Custom GPT retirement and migration FAQ
