ChatGPT Plugins were OpenAI's 2023 attempt to let ChatGPT use external tools and services. They got replaced by GPTs in late 2023. If you remember Plugins, here is what happened and what replaces them now.
What ChatGPT Plugins were
ChatGPT Plugins launched in 2023 as a Plus tier feature. The idea, ChatGPT could connect to external services to do things beyond chat. Browse the web, book travel, run code, look up real time data.
OpenAI built an app store style catalog. Third party developers built plugins. Examples included Expedia for travel, Klarna for shopping, Wolfram for math, Zapier for automation.
Why plugins did not work out
Plugins had a few critical issues:
- You had to manually enable plugins before a conversation
- Only 3 plugins active at once
- ChatGPT was bad at knowing when to invoke which plugin
- Most plugins did not work as reliably as promised
- The discovery experience was poor
In practice, plugins felt like a beta feature. Power users tolerated them. Most ChatGPT Plus users never figured out plugins were even there.
The transition to GPTs
November 2023. OpenAI announced GPTs, custom versions of ChatGPT tailored for specific tasks. Users could create GPTs with custom instructions, knowledge files, and connections to external services.
Plugins were officially deprecated in March 2024. The Plugins UI was removed from ChatGPT. Existing plugin developers were encouraged to migrate to GPT actions (the GPT equivalent of plugin functionality).
How GPTs work in 2026
GPTs are essentially specialized AI assistants. Anyone with ChatGPT Plus can create them. The GPT Store has millions of community made GPTs for almost any task imaginable.
Popular categories:
- Writing assistants for specific styles or formats
- Code helpers for specific languages or frameworks
- Research assistants for specific topics
- Image generation specialists (different styles)
- Data analyzers for spreadsheets and CSV files
- Tutor GPTs for various subjects
Discovery is way better than Plugins had. GPTs have ratings, reviews, categories, and ChatGPT itself recommends relevant GPTs based on your queries.
Building your own GPT
Anyone with ChatGPT Plus can create a custom GPT. Click Explore GPTs then Create. The GPT Builder walks you through configuration:
- Name and description
- Custom instructions for behavior
- Optional knowledge files (upload PDFs, docs)
- Capabilities (web browsing, image generation, code interpreter)
- Actions (connect to external APIs)
Built in 15 minutes for a simple GPT. Shareable via link or published to the GPT Store. Free users can use custom GPTs but cannot create them.
What functions plugins served that GPTs cover
| Plugin Era | GPT Era Equivalent |
|---|---|
| Web browsing plugin | Built into all ChatGPT now |
| Code interpreter plugin | Now Advanced Data Analysis, built in |
| Image generation plugins | Built in DALL-E 3 |
| Wolfram plugin | Wolfram GPT in store |
| Expedia / travel plugins | Travel focused GPTs |
| Custom data plugins | GPT with knowledge upload |
Functionally, GPTs cover everything plugins did, but better. The transition was an improvement.
Notable GPTs worth knowing
- Consensus, search academic papers
- Wolfram, advanced math and science
- Canva, design templates and graphics
- Code Tutor, learn programming
- Recipe Genie, meal planning from your ingredients
- Diagrams, generate flowcharts and diagrams
Browse the GPT Store inside ChatGPT. Filter by category. Try a few. Save your favorites for quick access.
The lesson from plugins
OpenAI got the underlying idea right (let AI use external tools) but the first implementation was clunky. GPTs took the same concept and made it usable.
This pattern (rough first attempt, then refined version) keeps happening in AI products. Anyone who wrote off ChatGPT after using clunky 2023 plugins should try the current GPT experience.
Did you use ChatGPT Plugins back when they existed? Drop a comment with your most memorable plugin experience.