As fun as it can be to chat with an AI chatbot (especially when that bot can help you with school or work), it’s always more fun to add a few extra features. OpenAI, the team behind ChatGPT, has made this possible with the introduction of plugins for the platform.
Although initially available to a select group of ChatGPT developers and subscribers, these plugins will now be rolled out to all users. Here’s what you need to do to access them right now.
Installing plugins for ChatGPT
ChatGPT has already enabled several major brands to create plugins for its platform, including the following:
- Expedia
- instacart
- Loose
- buy
- Zapier
- Klarna
You can find an updated list at the ChatGPT Plugins Page. Once you know which plugin you want to use and how you will use it, follow these steps to install it on ChatGPT:
- Enter “chat.openai.com” into your browser and log in to your ChatGPT Plus account.
- Navigate to the “Model” dropdown menu at the top of the page and select “Plugins.”
- If you’ve already added a plugin, you should be able to select it from the new menu that appears. Otherwise, click the “Plugins” drop-down menu to open a link to the “Plugins Store.”
- Select the “Add-on Store” link to see a list of available add-ons.
- Scroll to the plugin of your choice and click “Install”. It’s not like you can install multiple ChatGPT plugins in a single visit.
After installing a plugin, you should see its logo appear in the “Plugins” drop-down menu that appears after you have selected “Plugins” in the “Model” drop-down menu.
Using plugins in ChatGPT
With your plugins installed, you can query ChatGPT by referencing the plugin, allowing you to do several things. For example, a query like the following allows you to use the Instacart plugin to purchase recipe ingredients:
“I want a gluten-free pizza recipe and I need to buy the ingredients in Los Angeles. Could you suggest a simple gluten-free pizza receipt and order the ingredients on Instacart?
ChatGPT will create a response based on your query. In the example above, you should receive a gluten-free pizza recipe, along with a link to an Instacart shopping list containing all of the ingredients ChatGPT lists. Clicking that link will take you to the Instacart page where you can complete your transaction.
That’s just one example. Depending on the plugins you have installed, there are many ways to configure queries to incorporate the new features available to you. Experiment with different queries. Maybe try specifying the type of vacation you want to take, using the Expedia plugin to recommend the best ways to make your trip a reality. Alternatively, try using the Zapier plugin to link your Zapier account so you can create and send Gmail emails via ChatGPT.
Customizing ChatGPT Plugin Settings
As plugins are relatively new to ChatGPT, your ability to play with their settings is quite limited. Additionally, each plugin is different, so some allow you to customize their operations more than others. Follow these steps if you want to play with an addon you have installed:
- Log in to your ChatGPT Plus account and navigate to the “Plugins” page, which you should find in your dashboard.
- Select the plugin you want to customize.
- Make adjustments based on the options presented.
The nature of these options varies depending on the plugin. For example, those who use the “Speak” plugin (which translates text into different languages) can choose the language the plugin uses.
Creating a ChatGPT plugin
ChatGPT states that developers can create third-party plugins by creating a “manifest file”, also called an “ai-plugin.json” file. The following is the minimum schema for the file, for ChatGPT:
{
"schema_version": "v1",
"name_for_human": "TODO Plugin",
"name_for_model": "todo",
"description_for_human": "Plugin for managing a TODO list. You can add, remove and view your TODOs.",
"description_for_model": "Plugin for managing a TODO list. You can add, remove and view your TODOs.",
"auth": {
"type": "none"
},
"api": {
"type": "openapi",
"url": "http://localhost:3333/openapi.yaml",
"is_user_authenticated": false
},
"logo_url": "http://localhost:3333/logo.png",
"contact_email": "[email protected]",
"legal_info_url": "http://www.example.com/legal"
}
You’ll see that the file contains several fields that define what your plugin does, with ps for its name and description, both for human use and for the OpenAI model. There are ps to define the API you use, as well as contact details for the plugin creator.
The general steps for developing a ChatGPT plugin, including creating a manifest file, are as follows:
- Develop the API that you want the OpenAI language model to call. This can be a new API or one that is already in use and supported by ChatGPT.
- Detail your API using an OpenAI specification document.
- Create a manifest file to describe what the plugin does and provide the metadata that ChatGPT needs to see before it can offer the plugin to users.
With the files created, you can run your plugin through a remote server or in your local development environment.
If you are using a remote server, follow this process to activate your plugin:
- Navigate to “Develop your own plugin” in your dashboard and follow the instructions to set up the ability to create your own plugins.
- Select “Install an unverified plugin.”
- Add your manifest file to the path “yourdomain.com/.well-known/”.
Those who have a local version of their API running in their development environment can point their plugin interface directly to their localhost server:
- Go to the “Plugins” store in ChatGPT.
- Choose “Develop your own plugin”.
- Enter your port number and localhost, while ensuring that the “authentication type” is set to “none”.
Please note that enabling unverified plugins in your development area only gives you access to plugins that you create and upload. You cannot access other unverified plugins and other ChatGPT users will not be able to install your plugin unless it is verified. There is currently no verification process, although this should change as ChatGPT rolls out its plugin feature to a wider audience.
Play with plugins
Since ChatGPT plugins are at such an early stage of development, anything you do with them is as much experimentation as it is practice. Still, it’s easy to see how these add-ons could transform your experience on the platform, and many popular apps are already taking advantage of the feature to integrate ChatGPT into their offering.
Will you sign up for the waitlist or wait for it to be widely rolled out? Do you have any ideas for plugins that you (or other users) might find useful? Tell us in the comments p below.
