Quick answer
A ChatGPT Plugin gives ChatGPT or Codex the tools and instructions needed for a specific workflow. It can include an App that connects to another service, reusable skills that guide ChatGPT through a task, or templates that a company configures for its own systems. OpenAI replaced the App Directory with the Plugin Directory on July 9, 2026, but Apps still exist as the integrations that connect ChatGPT to outside data and actions.
What is a ChatGPT Plugin?
A ChatGPT Plugin packages the parts ChatGPT or Codex needs to complete a particular type of work. According to OpenAI’s guide to Plugins in ChatGPT and Codex, a Plugin may include:
- An App, which connects ChatGPT to another service, its data, or actions it can perform
- A skill, which gives ChatGPT reusable instructions and steps for completing a task
- An App template, which lets a workspace administrator configure a connection for the organization’s own systems
The Google Calendar Plugin is a simple example. Its App lets ChatGPT view upcoming events and attendee availability. You can ask ChatGPT to find scheduling conflicts, identify open meeting times, or build a realistic plan for the next day.
A more involved Plugin could combine that calendar connection with a skill that gives ChatGPT a set process for reviewing the week, protecting focus time, and preparing for meetings. Some Plugins only contain skills. Others need one or more Apps to connect with outside services.
The Plugin is the package you find in the directory. Its Apps and skills provide the actual tools and instructions.
These aren’t the same as the original ChatGPT plugins launched in 2023. OpenAI discontinued that earlier system and reused the name in 2026 for the current format, which can combine Apps, skills, and templates.
What happened to ChatGPT Apps?
ChatGPT Apps haven’t gone away. OpenAI changed where people find them and how they’re packaged.
Apps connect ChatGPT to outside products and information. Depending on the App and its permissions, ChatGPT may be able to search connected data, show an interactive interface, or take an action such as creating or updating something in another service. OpenAI’s current guide to Apps in ChatGPT explains the available capabilities and permission controls.
On July 9, 2026, OpenAI migrated the App Directory to the Plugin Directory. Existing App connections remained active, and Apps are now published inside Plugin listings.
OpenAI still calls its development framework the Apps SDK because developers continue to build the App itself. The Plugin packages that App with any related skills or setup templates.
When you open a Plugin listing, you can review the full workflow and its requirements. You’ll connect the underlying App when the Plugin needs access to another account or service.
How do you install and use ChatGPT Plugins?
You can browse the Plugin Directory from ChatGPT’s sidebar, Settings > Plugins, or the ChatGPT desktop app.
The directory is visible across ChatGPT plans. However, Plugin access can depend on your plan, region, device, workspace role, and the capabilities it includes.
To connect a Plugin:
- Open the Plugin Directory.
- Search for the Plugin you want.
- Open its listing and review the included Apps, setup requirements, terms, and privacy policy.
- Select Connect for any required App.
- Sign in to the outside service and approve the requested access.
- Add the App to a conversation with an @ mention or select it through + > More.
Some Plugins don’t require an outside account because they contain only skills. Others won’t work until their required App has been connected and authenticated.
Business, Enterprise, and Edu workspaces may also limit access. OpenAI provides separate administrator controls for Plugins and Apps, including role access, action permissions, synchronization, and approval settings.
If a Plugin or App says Disabled by admin, you’ll need a workspace administrator to enable it.
When should you use ChatGPT with Visla?
Starting directly in Visla makes sense when your source material is ready and you want to begin making the video.
The Visla AI Video Generator can start with an idea, script, text, webpage, PDF, presentation, audio, images, or existing footage. Visla then guides you through the video setup and creates a first draft with scenes, visuals, voiceover, music, and subtitles.
The Visla ChatGPT Plugin is useful when the research or script still needs more work. You can ask follow-up questions, compare possible angles, upload source material, test different openings, and revise the script through a longer conversation before creating the video.
ChatGPT Search can help you check recent information and find current sources. Deep Research can work across websites, uploaded files, and enabled Apps to produce a documented report with citations.
These tools can improve a script in specific ways. They can help you verify factual claims, identify missing context, account for counterarguments, and decide which information matters enough to include. You can also adapt the script for a particular audience, runtime, platform, or level of existing knowledge.
Start directly in Visla if you’re ready to build. Start in ChatGPT if you still need to research the topic, decide what you want to say, or work through several versions of the script.
How does the Visla ChatGPT Plugin work?
The Visla ChatGPT Plugin connects ChatGPT to Visla Video Maker. You can develop a script inside a regular ChatGPT conversation, request changes, and generate a Visla video project once you approve it.
To use it:
- Find the Visla ChatGPT Plugin in the Plugin Directory.
- Open the listing and connect Visla Video Maker.
- Sign in to your Visla account.
- Add Visla to a new or existing conversation.
- Describe the video you want to make.
- Review the script and request any factual, structural, or tonal changes.
- Approve the script and generate the Visla project.
This works well when the video grows out of something you’re already doing in ChatGPT. You might research a topic, analyze a report, summarize a webpage, develop a campaign concept, or turn a longer discussion into a short video script.
Once you approve the script, Visla Video Maker creates the project without requiring you to copy the text into another tool and rebuild it. The generated project opens in Visla’s Scene-Based Editor. From there, you can review and rearrange scenes, replace footage, adjust the voiceover and music, edit subtitles, add branding, and refine the pacing.
FAQ
A Plugin can only use the data and actions available through its included Apps and the permissions you approve. Before connecting an App, you can review its capabilities, login requirements, terms of service, and privacy policy. Information shared with a third-party App is handled under that provider’s own terms and privacy practices, so you should only connect services you trust. You can manage or disconnect connected Apps later through ChatGPT’s settings.
It depends on your App permission settings and the type of action. ChatGPT can read information from some connected Apps automatically, but it may ask for confirmation before making meaningful changes, exposing sensitive information, or performing actions that are difficult to reverse. Users can choose whether ChatGPT should always ask, ask before making changes, or ask only before important changes. Business administrators can also restrict Apps to read-only access or enable only selected actions.
Yes. Organizations can build custom Apps using the Model Context Protocol and test them privately through ChatGPT’s developer mode. Business, Enterprise, and Edu administrators can control who may create, publish, or use these internal integrations. A company can keep a custom App limited to its own workspace, while developers seeking public distribution must submit the surrounding Plugin through OpenAI’s review process.
May Horiuchi
May is a Content Specialist and AI Expert for Visla. She is an in-house expert on anything Visla and loves testing out different AI tools to figure out which ones are actually helpful and useful for content creators, businesses, and organizations.