Why did OpenAI replace ChatGPT plugins with GPT? The answer is simple. Just like its operation.
The ChatGPT plugins were a great addition to the ChatGPT Plus offering: they acted as browser extensions for ChatGPT, adding third-party features to the chatbot that OpenAI had not developed themselves. Unfortunately for fans of these plugins, they are no longer available. OpenAI discontinued them last April, informing users that existing conversations with plugins could not be continued. (They are still accessible though.) OpenAI did not remove a fantastic feature for fun: the company made this decision because they saw an even better successor in their new tool, the GPT.
What are GPTs?
This is where things can be somewhat confusing, as OpenAI has two different uses for the term “GPT.” The one you may be more familiar with is the LLM GPT. This includes GPT-3.5, GPT-4, GPT-4 Turbo, etc. These LLM GPTs are what power ChatGPT, as well as programs that use their AI processing for OpenAI. For example, Microsoft Copilot uses GPT-4 Turbo.
The GPTs in this context, on the other hand, are customized versions of these programs. Users and developers can create a custom GPT for what they want: for instance, you can design a GPT that designs custom logos, generates images via DALL-E, or writes in the style of your choice. It can be a basic bot or an extremely complex robot.
Even better, it’s a no-code application: you might think you need to know how to code to build a GPT, but OpenAI’s GPT editor works like a simple conversation. You tell the editor what you want your GPT to do, provide additional knowledge to help it do its job, give it capabilities (web browsing, image generation, and/or code interpretation), and OpenAI generates a GPT for you. And since the GPTs are trained on OpenAI’s latest GPT models (it’s confusing, I know), there is less reliance on third-party processes or APIs to accomplish the same tasks.
You still need a ChatGPT Plus or Enterprise account to use the GPTs, but if you are a paying user, you can start playing with it. The editor guides you through the whole process, suggesting names and generating logos. You are free to adjust anything you want along the way.
Although it’s great that OpenAI has created a GPT editor that is usable by everyone, this solution doesn’t seem to truly replace plugins. After all, we don’t always want to create our own browser extensions; we just want to download the best ones and use them.
But GPTs work exactly like that. Anyone, including businesses, can create GPTs and offer them on the GPT Store for other users. One reason OpenAI ended the plugins is that many companies working on these apps also had GPTs that did the same thing. Kayak had a ChatGPT plugin to check travel prices, but the company now has a GPT to do that. If you liked Wolfram’s ChatGPT plugin, you’ll love its GPT just as much. OpenAI states that while the plugin beta had over 1,000 plugins, the GPT Store offers several hundred thousand. No doubt some of them are of little or no use, but there is a good chance you will find some that suit your needs.
Find the right GPT for you.
If you had a plugin you loved, try searching on the GPT Store. Kayak and Wolfram stand out, for example. Of course, the large number of GPTs on the store means the landscape has changed a lot: like other app stores, the GPT Store offers “Recommended” and “Trending” tabs.
Spend some time in the GPT Store and see if the options interest you. Then, look for apps that you really need and see if they already exist. You can gauge the popularity of a GPT by looking at reviews and the number of conversations it has been involved in, similar to how you would evaluate a mobile app on an app store. However, if you can’t find what you’re looking for, you can try creating your own GPT.
Of course, like all AI products, GPTs can suffer from hallucinations. In other words, sometimes they say nonsensical things. Do not take what a GPT tells you at face value, even if it has access to the web. If you are using a GPT for something important, always double-check its statements yourself.