Key Takeaways

• ChatGPT Plugins enhance the AI by providing links to web services, but were removed due to redundancy in custom GPTs.
• There are 85+ ChatGPT Plugins available, transforming ChatGPT into a more comprehensive platform.
• Usage and results of ChatGPT Plugins vary, with some plugins struggling to provide accurate information.

ChatGPT Plugins extend the functionality of OpenAI's generative AI chatbot by providing it with internet access and a direct link to specific services.

Prior to web access and plugins, ChatGPT was working from a dataset ending in late 2021. Despite this limitation, ChatGPT's popularity soared. Now, ChatGPT Plugins are changing how ChatGPT works and bringing it up to speed with competitors such as Google Bard and Microsoft Bing AI.

On March 19, 2024, OpenAI disabled ChatGPT Plugin conversations and completely removed them on April 9, 2024. ChatGPT Plugins were removed because much of their functionality can be found in custom GPTs and the GPT Store.

What Are ChatGPT Plugins?

ChatGPT Plugins are third-party extensions designed to extend the functionality of ChatGPT. According to OpenAI, "Plugins are tools designed specifically for language models with safety as a core principle, and help ChatGPT access up-to-date information, run computations, or use third-party services."

The core function of a ChatGPT Plugin is to bring more useful information into ChatGPT, making the generative AI chatbot more useful.

For example, you could use the Kayak and Expedia ChatGPT Plugins when you want to use ChatGPT to create a trip itinerary or the Polygon Plugin to get up-to-date information on crypto markets, stocks, and forex.

How Many ChatGPT Plugins Are There?

At the time of writing in May 2023, around 85 ChatGPT Plugins are available on the ChatGPT Plugin store. We expect many more ChatGPT Plugins to launch in the coming months as developers get to grips with OpenAI's development rules and the platform itself, integrating existing websites and services into the ChatGPT platform.

And yes, we're now calling it a platform because from here on, ChatGPT becomes more than "just a chatbot."

How to Install a ChatGPT Plugin

Installing a ChatGPT Plugin takes just a few clicks, but you need a ChatGPT Plus subscription. ChatGPT Plugins are not available without a premium subscription.

1. Open ChatGPT. In the bottom left corner, select Settings > Beta Features, then toggle the Plugins setting.
2. In ChatGPT, select New Chat.
3. Switch the ChatGPT model to GPT-4.
4. From the dropdown menu, select Plugins > Plugin Store.
5. Now, select the ChatGPT Plugin you want to install.

Installation should only take a moment or two. To uninstall, just select the plugin again.

However, there is currently no "All Plugins" list to make it easy to unsubscribe. Also, there is no way to sort the plugins, so you're left to scroll through every page until you find what you want. Search functionality will come with a later update, but having these user-friendly UI features ready would have been useful.

How to Use a ChatGPT Plugin

How you use a ChatGPT Plugin depends on the plugin you install. But the general gist of ChatGPT plugin usage is similar to regular ChatGPT; you ask your question, and ChatGPT provides an answer. The accuracy of your answer depends on the quality of your prompt, but now also depends on the quality of the ChatGPT Plugin.

It's also worth remembering that ChatGPT Plugins are still a beta feature. The ChatGPT Plugin ecosystem isn't fully up and running yet, and despite the number of available plugins, not all of them work as they should—or as we might like.

Planning a Trip

For example, we took the Kayak, Expedia, and Trip.com plugins for a spin in an attempt to book a trip to Malta from the UK for a family of five. Unfortunately, the results and time taken to achieve those results weren't particularly impressive, to say the least.

Part of the issue was the initial lack of detail in my prompt, which is on me. However, even after updating information, the plugins still struggled to return accurate information, most specifically failing to realize that there were direct flights from each of the airports I suggested to Malta during the period of the trip. A rapid search on Skyscanner found direct flights within a minute.

Then, having used Expedia and Kayak alongside each other one day, the functionality was turned off the next day. Without a specific reason, we can only speculate, but it's likely the two competing travel search firms don't want their results appearing alongside each other for easy comparison. So much for making it easy for consumers.

That said, the travel plugins fared much better when tasked with a trip in the US. The Kayak plugin quickly found flights and a hotel for a solo trip from Miami to New York, staying in a four-star hotel with a gym and pool. In this case, my prompt was more specific, had fewer variables, and was easier for the plugin to plan.

For now, you might be better off searching for yourself or using a GPT-enabled trip-planning app.

Planning Meals and Searching for Recipies

Other ChatGPT Plugins have similar issues. I first asked the Tasty ChatGPT Plugin to "help craft a week of healthy evening meals for a family of five," stipulating that all meals should be vegetarian. It found three recipes in its vast library of recipes that fit the bill. Realizing that wasn't good enough, it tried to search again but failed—twice.

Then, I asked if it could find a no-bake vanilla and raspberry cheesecake recipe. As this specific recipe didn't exist in the Tasty database, it couldn't provide an exact recipe but did suggest adapting a no-bake brownie cheesecake recipe. But instead of helping adapt it to the new flavor profile with specific steps, it just provided the original recipe.

In both cases, a regular ChatGPT prompt returned much better results, using both GPT-3.5 and GPT-4.

Creating a Spotify Playlist

The PlaylistAI ChatGPT Plugin connects to your Spotify account and creates "unique" playlists based on your prompts. The two playlists created were decent enough (throwing in MC Hammer on the hip-hop playlist was a somewhat strange choice versus the countless better options!), and the plugin adds the playlists to your account, ready for listening.

The only issue arose when asking the plugin to combine the two playlists into one. PlaylistAI responded positively, showing that it had combined the two into a playlist titled "Melodic Techno Meets 90s Hip Hop," yet the playlist was still just hip-hop. In addition, PlaylistAI added three more hip-hop tracks to the original list, which isn't a problem, but it wasn't anything near what was asked.

Also, right now, despite being connected to the internet and Spotify, the PlaylistAI cannot analyze an existing playlist and suggest related tracks, which, again, is frustrating.

ChatGPT's Plugins Need More Work

Internet-connected ChatGPT Plugins were seen as the next big step for ChatGPT. Once the kinks are ironed out, and developers get to grips with how a ChatGPT Plugin should function to be truly useful, that step will be taken. Still, it's fun to see what the plugins can do, even if they're still in beta and aren't fully up to speed yet.