Custom GPTs — retirement, migration to plugins, and what still works
OpenAI is retiring custom GPTs and moving reusable workflows to plugins. If you built GPTs, you have until December 11, 2026 to migrate. If you only use other people's GPTs, check each one for a replacement. This page sets out the timeline, what transfers, what breaks, and how GPTs work until then. Everything here is from OpenAI's help center.
- Now: new GPT creation and publishing are not available on personal accounts (Free, Go, Plus, Pro). Existing GPTs still work, and you can keep editing GPTs you already made if your plan allows.
- Business, Enterprise and Edu workspaces can still create, edit and publish GPTs where workspace settings allow.
- December 11, 2026: custom GPTs are scheduled to retire. Enterprise workspaces with an approved deferral have until February 11, 2027.
What a plugin is
A plugin packages reusable instructions and connected tools for ChatGPT and Codex. It can include skills (instructions and workflow guidance), connected apps (external accounts, data and actions) and, for admins, app templates. Some plugins are skills only and need no app connection. Plugins marked OpenAI Verified have been reviewed by OpenAI for quality, but OpenAI says that doesn't replace your own security review. (Plugins in ChatGPT and Codex)
Migrating a GPT you built
- When migration is available for your account, open My GPTs and choose Migrate to plugin on the GPT. Use the account or workspace where you created it.
- Finish your edits first. Migration uses the GPT's latest published version, so drafts don't transfer. Publishing doesn't require public sharing. After migration the original stays usable until retirement but becomes read-only.
- Review the new plugin. It starts private and is not installed or shared automatically.
- Test it on the prompts you normally use. Save a few before migrating so you can compare results.
| GPT part | After migration |
|---|---|
| Instructions | Become a skill inside the plugin |
| Knowledge files | Copied into the plugin's reference files |
| Connected apps | Added to the plugin as apps |
| Selected model | Doesn't carry over (Enterprise defaults apply in Enterprise) |
| Custom actions | Don't transfer. Rebuild them, possibly as an available app or a custom MCP server |
| Existing conversations | Stay with the original GPT until it retires |
Give GPTs that use custom actions the most lead time. Those integrations stop working in the plugin until you replace them. If you'd rather own the integration outright, the same logic runs as an OpenClaw skill or a Hermes MCP server.
How GPTs work until retirement
For workspaces that can still build them (Creating and editing GPTs):
- Build: Explore GPTs (or
chatgpt.com/gpts) → Create. Use the conversational builder or the Configuration view. Building works on the web only; mobile apps can use GPTs but not create them. - Fields: name, description, conversation starters, instructions, knowledge, recommended model, capabilities and actions.
- Knowledge limits: up to 20 files, each up to 512 MB.
- Capabilities: web search, image generation, Canvas, Code Interpreter & Data Analysis, and Apps. A GPT can use apps or actions, not both.
- Actions: connect an external API with an OpenAPI schema and authentication set to None, API key or OAuth (Configuring actions). A workspace can restrict which action domains are allowed.
- Version history: open ••• while editing to review and restore earlier versions. Restoring a GPT that uses actions may mean re-entering its authentication.
Sharing levels
Options depend on your account and workspace (Sharing and publishing GPTs): invite-only, anyone in your workspace with the link, your whole workspace, anyone with the link (where public link sharing is available), and the GPT Store for eligible GPTs. Personal accounts can't publish new GPTs. Public link and GPT Store sharing allow Can chat only, never Can view settings.
Privacy notes that still apply
- Anything in a GPT's knowledge files should be treated as readable by the people who can use it. Don't put secrets or personal data there.
- A GPT or plugin with actions or connected apps sends data to those services. Only use ones whose operator you trust.
- In Business, Enterprise and Edu workspaces, OpenAI does not train on your content by default.
If you're leaving ChatGPT instead
A GPT's instructions and knowledge files are portable. Paste the instructions into your agent's workspace files, re-create actions as skills or MCP tools, and keep the files alongside. See ChatGPT vs OpenClaw for a step-by-step move.
← Back to ChatGPT hub · See also: Setup · ChatGPT Work
Official sources
Checked against OpenAI’s help center and chatgpt.com/pricing (US prices) on 2026-09-27. If anything here disagrees with these pages, trust the vendor docs.