There are several extras you can use to get the most out of the chatbot so whether you want to have it talk to your Google Sheets or order from your favourite local store (yes, really) there’s a plugin for that.

The feature was first launched at the end of March 2023, starting with a small group of select developers including Zapier, Expedia, Slack, and Instacart.

Since then, the plugin store has grown exponentially with hundreds of add-ons available to search from and many more developers besides devising new ways to expand upon the popular AI product through the Product Hunt community.

If you’d like to know how to add plugins to ChatGPT, what the best add-ons are and know how to use them like a pro, this guide has got you covered.

See: Does ChatGPT save data? How to use the chatbot's privacy controls

What are ChatGPT plugins and why should you use them?

ChatGPT plugins are add-ons that extend the AI chatbot’s capabilities. The feature can be accessed through the in-platform store, provided you have a valid ChatGPT Plus subscription and ChatGPT-4 access.

While some of these plugins are developed by OpenAI, the majority come from third-party developers offering a diverse range of functions.

There are hundreds of plugins currently available each helping you to perform specific tasks with ease. This can include everything from helping you to write the perfect prompt to assisting in flight and restaurant reservations. In short, ChatGPT plugins can help improve and extend your experience with the chatbot.

Are ChatGPT plugins free?

Most ChatGPT plugins are free, but you’ll need a paid subscription to ChatGPT Plus to use them. This is because plugins are a feature of ChatGPT-4, which is available immediately on a ChatGPT Plus subscription.

How to add plugins to ChatGPT

To add a plugin to ChatGPT you’ll first need to make sure that you’re a ChatGPT Plus user which grants access to ChatGPT-4.

This is a subscription plan, available for $20 a month, that gives several additional benefits, including peak time access, faster response times and priority access to new features, like plugins.

If you’re on a free plan, you can upgrade by clicking on ‘Upgrade to Plus’ found to the bottom left of your screen and following the purchase steps.

To use the plugins feature you’ll also need to ensure the Chat History & Training option is toggled on under ‘Settings’ or else the option to add a plugin will not show.

You can check for this by navigating to the bottom left of your screen and clicking on the three dots, then select ‘Settings’ > ‘Data Control’ > ‘Chat History & Training.’

ChatGPT states it may send parts of your conversation and the country or state you're into the plugin to enhance your conversation.

Plugins can initially be added via the Settings menu, as detailed below.

How to turn on plugins in ChatGPT

1. Once you’ve confirmed you have a valid ChatGPT Plus subscription, log in to the platform and click on your name at the bottom left of your screen to find the Settings option.

2. Head to Beta Features and ensure the Plugins option is toggled on.

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3. Now navigate to the GPT-4 option at the top of the screen to bring up a dropdown menu and click on ‘Plugins’ to enable the feature. You’ll now see a text dropdown that says ‘No plugins enabled.’

How to access the ChatGPT plugins store and add plugins

1. Click on the No Plugins Enabled message followed by Plugin Store.

2. If it’s your first time visiting the store, you may see an information box pop up: About Plugins. You can choose to read now, but it can always still be accessed on the store at the bottom right of its screen.

3. You can now proceed to the Plugin store to search and add any plugins you’re interested in by hitting the Install button. Repeat this process to add new plugins.

4. Exit the screen by clicking on X and you should now see a series of icons beneath the GTP-4 tab. The plugins have been successfully added.

You can search for and add plugins via the Plugin Store

How to deactivate and uninstall plugins

Once you’ve added plugins, they should appear already activated, as indicated by the tick box coloured blue.

If you’d like to temporarily deactivate a plugin, click on the tick box to turn it to a white colour. Note: you can only have three plugins installed at any one time.

To uninstall a plugin, click on the plugins drop-down and select Plugin Store. Navigate to the tab called Installed and look for the plugin you’d like to remove. Click Uninstall.

How to use ChatGPT plugins

So, you’ve installed some really useful-sounding plugins, great! But how do you use them to get the most out of them?

I tested the most popular apps from the Plugin store to understand how to use them to their full potential.

How do you know if a ChatGPT plugin is working?

You can tell if a ChatGPT plugin is working if, straight after you enter your prompt, the platform immediately displays a green box, the logo of the plugin and a message that says it’s using the plugin to answer your question. Once it’s displayed your answer, a grey box will then tell you it has used a specific plugin.

You may need to use a specific prompt to activate the desired plugin. The best place to start if you’re not sure is to use the plugin’s name, but you may have to search for some information on the web around specific prompts for the plugin you want to use.

What was interesting was when I tried to use the word ‘Expedia’ at the front of my prompt, ChatGPT answered instead, but when the prompt was changed to ‘through Expedia’ or ‘on Expedia’ the plugin kicked in, so it’s worth trying this if the name of the plugin or asking a question directly doesn’t appear to work, as you’re asking ChatGPT to use another application.

20+ best ChatGPT plugins to try out now

Whether you’re looking to take your ChatGPT use to the next level with specific prompts or fancy discovering the best plugins in one place, this round-up features add-ons from the ChatGPT plugin store and Product Hunt community.

1. Expedia

What it does: The Expedia plugin can book your flights, plan your trip, rent your car and plan your accommodation.

How to use: “Can you suggest some top attractions in Venice to visit on Expedia”

“Recommend me a five-star hotel in the Shinjuku area of Japan through Expedia”

2. OpenTable

What it does: OpenTable can suggest the best restaurants in your area and book tables in advance

How to use: “I want to try a new steakhouse in New York. Can you help me find one on OpenTable?

“I need a table for 3 at an Italian restaurant in Boston this Friday night. Can you check OpenTable for availability?”

3. PromptPerfect

What it does: PromptPerfect automatically perfects your prompts for ChatGPT, GPT-3.5, DALL-E 2, StableDiffusion and MidJourney.

How to use: Type the word ‘perfect’ in front of your prompt

4. AskYourPDF

What it does: AskYourPDF helps users read through and extract valuable insights from their PDFs.

How to use: Upload your document via the Ask Your PDF website. Then enter your prompt or question in ChatGPT-4 followed by the doc ID of the uploaded file.

5. Zapier

What it does: Zapier’s ChatGPT plugin allows you to connect with over 5,000 apps such as Google Sheets, Gmail, and Slack.

How to use: “Please email Joanne Smith and let them know the analysis that was due Friday is ready for review today.”

For more information on how to connect and use the Zapier plugin, visit their website.

6. Instacart

What it does: Instacart is a meal planning plugin that lets users shop from food and recipe-related conversations and get ingredients delivered directly to their door.

How to use: “I have chicken and pasta. Can you check on Instacart what’s a kid-friendly meal I can make, and what else do I need?”

7. KAYAK

What it does: KAYAK searches hundreds of travel sites to show travelers the information they need to find the right flights, hotels, hire cars and holiday packages.

How to use: “ Where can I fly to from NYC for under $500 in April?”

“I’m looking for a hotel in New York City that’s close to Central Park”

8. Speak

What it does: Speak is an AI-powered language tutor that teaches you how to say anything in another language.

How to use: “How do I say ‘Nice to meet you’ in Japanese?”

9. VoxScript

What it does: VoxScript enables users to search YouTube transcripts, financial data sources, and Google search results.

How to use: “Search the web for the latest news on AI”

“Get me the transcript for this YouTube video: [insert video URL or ID here]”

10. Planfit

What it does: Planfit creates a tailored workout plan and instructions with videos.

How to use: “Can you give me a beginner’s workout routine for full body training at home?”

“I’m looking for an expert-level workout routine focusing on toning my stomach”

11. Uberchord

What it does: Uberchord displays guitar chord diagrams where a user specifies a chord name

How to use: “Can you show me an F chord?”

12. Webpilot

What it does: WebPilot allows users to provide a URL and make requests for interacting with, extracting specific information, or modifying the content from the URL.

How to use: “Can you summarize this page? [insert web URL]”

13. Wolfram

What it does: The Wolfram plugin uses real-time data and visualization to answer math and knowledge queries using Wolfram’s data knowledgebase and language.

How to use: “Plot the zeta function on the critical line up to t=50”

“What is a second cousin twice removed?”

14. Show Me Diagrams

What it does: Show Me Diagrams allow users to create and edit diagrams inside ChatGPT.

How to use: “Can you make a diagram of the family tree of Henry VIII?”

15. Scholar AI

What it does: Search over 40M peer-reviewed scientific papers and PDFs and uncover extracts from recent research.

How to use: “Give me extracts on the latest research on heart disease.”

16. Video Insights

What it does: Video Insights provides useful information about online video platforms like YouTube and Daily Motion, including transcribing videos.

How to use: “Transcribe this video for me: [insert video link]”

“Summarize the video and provide its key points as a bullet list”

17. Gift Ideas Suggester

What it does: The Gift Ideas Suggester plugin is designed to help users generate personalized gift ideas for any occasion, whether it's a birthday, anniversary, graduation, or Mother's Day.

How to use: “Suggest a gift for a 4-year-old girl who likes lions”

18. SpeechKi

What it does: SpeechKi converts text into ready-to-use audio with multiple voices available that are then available as a download link.

How to use: “Turn this text into audio and provide as a link: Hello and good evening listeners”

19. Link Reader

What it does: Link Reader allows you to read any links from multiple sources including webpages YouTube, PDF, PPT, and Word Docs

How to use: “I need to know the latest AI news. Can you gather some articles from reliable sources? [LINK with the https://]”

20. ChatWithPDF

What it does: ChatWithPDF allows users to load and query PDF documents using ChatGPT.

How to use: “Could you please help me summarize the key points from

[this section] from this PDF: [link]”

21. Likewise

What it does: Likewise gives users TV, movie, book & podcast recommendations based on their preferences.

How to use: "My husband and I are looking for a thriller with a strong female lead on either Netflix or Hulu”

“What are some trending comedy podcasts?"

22. Code Interpreter

What it does: One of OpenAI’s own in-house add-ons that uses Python to handle uploads and downloads, Code Interpreter allows ChatGPT Plus users to to analyze data, create charts, edit files, perform math and more.

How to use: "Here is the TESLA Inc Last 5 Years Stock Historical dataset, take a look and tell me what you find."

"Provide metadata for this image."

23. ChatWithGit

What it does: The ChatWithGit plugin enables users to scour GitHub for code. Type in your search question, get back a snippet of the code, and get a direct link to the repository.

How to use: “Find me some code for integrating with OpenAI API”

24. HeyGen

What it does: Create videos instantly in ChatGPT with HeyGen. HeyGen creates AI-generated video avatars that can read scripts and star in your next video!

How to use: “Create a video for the following transcript: [ your script here! ]” Get your video then customize your avatar parameters to make it your own.

25. Klarna Shopping

What it does: Klarna Shopping plugin is an AI assistant that instantly compares prices and products from thousands of online shops.

How to use: "Can you find me the best deals on [ brand name ] [ product type ] in the US?"

What are the best ChatGPT plugins for coding?

Some of the best ChatGPT plugins for coding include AskTheCode, which allows its users to ask source code-related questions, ChatWithGit which enables developers to search through GitHub for code, Code Runner that allows users to execute code in 70+ languages as well as generating graphs and plots, and CodeCast Wandbox which enables developers to instantly compile and share code instantly.

You can use ChatGPT coding plugins to find examples of code that can work with spreadsheets, query databases, query APIs, send text messages/emails, send money, and scrape websites.

ChatGPT plugins for coding can be a major productivity boost but they should be used wisely. Like most applications of generative AI, your search results won’t do all the work for you. Use these tools to guide your own creative coding process and speed up your research.

Plugins for coding should come from a trusted source and be sure to test and QA your code before you ship it.

What are the best ChatGPT plugins for research?

The best ChatGPT plugins for research will depend on what you’re researching. For scientific research, turn to plugins trained on scientific journals and trustworthy data to find your answers.

ScholarAI allows its users to search through a database of peer-reviewed studies and academic research.

NextPaperAI retrieves the most recent research papers on a specific topic from PubMed, an online database containing more than 35 million citations on biomedical literature.

If you’re planning your next vacation, anniversary dinner, or learning a new language, you’ll want specialized plugins that meet your needs. The ChatGPT plugins on this list cover many different research topics and use cases to help you find what you’re looking for quickly.

How do ChatGPT plugins work?

ChatGPT plugins enable users to retrieve specific information defined by the developers of the plugins. When a user provides a prompt, ChatGPT determines whether to utilize the data it has been trained on by OpenAI or employ one of the installed plugins based on relevance.

When a user has activated plugins, ChatGPT determines whether it can competently answer the query based on its training. If ChatGPT deems that a relevant plugin would assist in addressing the user's query, it utilizes the plugin accordingly.

How safe are ChatGPT plugins?

Plugins are powered by third-party applications that are not controlled by OpenAI. The company, therefore, suggests in a pop-up message within the platform that you should "be sure you trust a plugin before installation." The main reason for this is that any form of third-party plugin can get infected or compromised so users should always be vigilant for security risks.

On the official OpenAI Plugins page, the business states: "The plugin’s text-based web browser is limited to making GET requests, which reduces (but does not eliminate) certain classes of safety risks. This scopes the browsing plugin to be useful for retrieving information, but excludes “transactional” operations such as form submission which have more surface area for security and safety issues."