What is ChatGPT Plugins?

Large language models such as ChatGPT have two built-in limits: they learn only from training data, which can be out of date, and on their own they can only produce text rather than act. A plug-in is, in general, a software component that extends what an existing system can do without rebuilding it. ChatGPT plugins applied that idea to the chatbot: OpenAI describes them as tools designed for language models that help ChatGPT access up-to-date information, run computations, or use third-party services. A plugin the user had enabled was listed in the prompt (the instructions) shown to the model together with documentation telling it how to use that plugin. OpenAI announced initial plugin support on March 23, 2023.

Written from primary sources and reference pages, and checked against them by an independent AI fact-checker. Drafted with AI assistance.