Plugins

0:31 Plugins connect ChatGPT to the services you use, such as Gmail, Google Drive, Slack or iCloud, and bundle the skills for a task; to add one, select Plugins in the sidebar, pick it, then Install plugin and Connect (Plugins in ChatGPT). "Plugins" is the 2026 name for what ChatGPT called connectors and then apps: the Plugin Directory replaced the App Directory on Jul 9, 2026, and existing app connections kept working. The directory is open on every plan as of Nov 6, 2026. These plugins are not the 2023 ChatGPT plugins, an earlier system OpenAI retired.

Quick facts

What is a ChatGPT plugin?

0:02 OpenAI draws the line this way: an app connects ChatGPT to one service, such as Slack, while a plugin brings apps and skills together for a task (Plugins in ChatGPT). A plugin can hold:

• Skills: reusable instructions and workflow guidance, which need no outside connection.
• Connected apps: links to services like Google Drive or Gmail.
• App templates.
• Extensions: panels, sidebar views, file viewers and editors, forms and plugin settings inside ChatGPT, added on Sep 29, 2026.

Some plugins also support events, which let ChatGPT act when something happens, such as a document changing or a reply arriving in a thread; setting one up creates a task like those on Scheduled Tasks.

How to add a plugin

1. Select Plugins in the sidebar on the web, desktop or mobile, or open chatgpt.com/plugins.
2. Browse the tabs Public, Your workspace, Personal and Installed; an "OpenAI Verified" badge marks reviewed plugins.
3. Select a plugin, then Install plugin.
4. Select Connect and sign in to the service if it asks.

Connected apps can also be managed from Settings > Plugins; very old versions of the mobile apps still say "Apps" there (Connected apps in ChatGPT). A "Desktop only" label means the plugin needs the desktop app.

How to use a plugin in a chat

1:07 ChatGPT uses installed plugins on its own when they fit the request. To pick one yourself, type @ and its name, select + and type its name, or choose Plugins in the composer (Plugins in ChatGPT). Since Sep 17, 2026 many plugins accept several accounts at once (multiple Google accounts came first, on Aug 28, 2026), and plugins work in Live voice since Sep 23, 2026.

Permissions

For each connected app you choose how much ChatGPT may do without asking (Connected apps in ChatGPT):

Source: Connected apps in ChatGPT, OpenAI Help Center, read Nov 6, 2026.

On Free, Go, Plus and Pro, information ChatGPT reads from apps may be used for training when Improve the model for everyone is on; on Business, Enterprise and Edu it is not used by default. Apps may see your IP address and approximate location (Connected apps in ChatGPT). See Privacy and Data Controls.

Notable plugins

Source: ChatGPT release notes, OpenAI Help Center, read Nov 6, 2026. The iCloud plugins sign in with an Apple app-specific password (Connected apps in ChatGPT).

Creating and sharing a plugin

Install Plugin Creator from the directory and chat with @plugin-creator, describing what you want ("Add a skill that uses the attached template"), or use Plugins > Add (+) (Plugins in ChatGPT). A plugin can hold skills, local MCP apps (desktop only), workspace apps (custom MCP servers) and apps hosted on ChatGPT Sites.

To share one you own: Plugins > ••• > Share plugin, then choose "Only those invited", "Anyone in this workspace with the link" or "Visible in workspace directory". People you share with still install it and authorize its apps. Workspace admins control plugins under Workspace settings > Permissions & roles (Plugins in ChatGPT). The pricing page lists creating and sharing plugins on Go, Plus and Pro, as of Nov 6, 2026 (chatgpt.com/pricing).

Plugins are also where custom GPTs go: before GPTs retire on Dec 11, 2026, Migrate to plugin turns a GPT's instructions into a skill and its knowledge files into reference files (Custom GPT retirement FAQ). The steps are on How to Move Custom GPTs to Plugins.

For developers: the Apps SDK

2:15 Developers build the app part of a plugin with the Apps SDK, which OpenAI describes as an open standard on the Model Context Protocol (Introducing apps in ChatGPT). Its documentation at developers.openai.com/apps-sdk now opens on the plugins docs, and submissions for review go through OpenAI's submission guide.

From plugins to apps to plugins: a short history

Source: ChatGPT release notes, OpenAI Help Center, read Nov 6, 2026.

What testers found

9:28 In a Jun 7, 2026 video comparing the $20 plans, Paul J Lipsky scrolled ChatGPT's list of connectable apps, as the directory was then called, and found it long and covering Gmail, Calendar, Drive, Notion, Outlook Calendar and SharePoint, but searched in vain for Zapier, so he counted fewer integrations than Claude's.

6:13 Parker Prompts reached a similar verdict in an Aug 12, 2026 video: Claude won the connectors round on breadth, with ChatGPT close behind on the same big tools, and Zapier reachable from ChatGPT only through its actions.

Frequently asked questions

Are ChatGPT plugins free? The ChatGPT plugin directory is open on every plan, Free included, as of Nov 6, 2026. Creating and sharing plugins is listed on Go, Plus and Pro, and some plugins depend on your plan, region or workspace.

What is the difference between apps, connectors and plugins in ChatGPT? They are the same family renamed: connectors became apps on Dec 18, 2025, and the Plugin Directory replaced the App Directory on Jul 9, 2026. Today an app connects one service, and a plugin bundles apps and skills.

How do I connect Gmail or Google Drive to ChatGPT? Open Plugins in the sidebar, choose Gmail or Google Drive, select Install plugin, then Connect and sign in with your Google account.

Can ChatGPT plugins change my data? Only as far as you allow. Each connected app can be set to Always ask, Allow read actions, Allow low-risk actions or Allow all actions.

Do my old ChatGPT app connections still work? Yes. OpenAI said existing app connections were unaffected when the Plugin Directory replaced the App Directory on Jul 9, 2026.

Sources

• Plugins in ChatGPT, OpenAI Help Center, read Nov 6, 2026
• Connected apps in ChatGPT, OpenAI Help Center, read Nov 6, 2026
• ChatGPT release notes, OpenAI Help Center, read Nov 6, 2026
• Custom GPT retirement and migration FAQ, OpenAI Help Center, read Nov 6, 2026
• ChatGPT pricing, OpenAI, read Nov 6, 2026
• Introducing apps in ChatGPT and the new Apps SDK, OpenAI, read Nov 6, 2026
• Apps SDK, OpenAI developer docs, read Nov 6, 2026
• Plugin submission, OpenAI developer docs, linked from OpenAI's plugins help article on Nov 6, 2026
• Plugins & Skills, OpenAI, Aug 28, 2026 (video)
• Plugins in ChatGPT, OpenAI, Jul 21, 2026 (video)
• Build Plugins for ChatGPT, OpenAI, Oct 7, 2026 (video)
• ChatGPT Plus vs Claude Pro vs Gemini Pro: The Best $20 AI Plan, Paul J Lipsky, Jun 7, 2026 (video)
• ChatGPT vs Claude vs Gemini: Which $20 AI Plan Is Worth It?, Parker Prompts, Aug 12, 2026 (video)