One of the exciting advancements in applied AI is ChatGPT plugins. These add-on tools have enhanced the functionalities of ChatGPT and made it more powerful in the digital world. They have now become an essential tool to perform AI-related functions and boost productivity. These GPT plug-ins have enabled users to automate tasks and streamline decision-making. Also, in the professional ecosystem, it has become essential as these plugins perform real-world tasks like browsing the web, booking flights, analyzing documents, or retrieving any kind of data from databases.
It manages the workflow and is reliable. The plugins have unlocked a new potential for the applied AI. With these plugins, you have received access to the centralized hub where you do not need to switch between different applications for boosting your productivity. The plugins will apply and help you perform all your tasks in minutes. They have become a core in the digital industry.
What Are ChatGPT Plugins?
The ChatGPT plugins can be considered as the Add-ons or third-party extensions that integrate with ChatGPT and provide it with new functionalities and capabilities to enhance its execution. These plugins can fetch real-time data and perform specific actions like interacting with other applications or services. All these functionalities are maintained from within the ChatGPT chat only. These plugins can be used in research, travel, shopping, data analysis, PDF interactions, and a lot more.
The working of a plugin can be explained as – whenever a user types a query in ChatGPT, for example, “find my meetings”. ChatGPT will understand what the user’s intent is, and it will build the requests accordingly. Then the plug-in interface layer will search within the APIs, like with the calendar API and the other plugins like document, travel, finance, etc., to generate the desired outputs. When calendar data and a service result are obtained, then ChatGPT will generate a response like you have two events. So this shows how a user interacts with and what the final answer is.
User → ChatGPT → Plugin Layer → External Service → Response back to ChatGPT → Final Answer
The ChatGPT plugins have come a long way with the rise of AI Agents. They’re even used in cross-platform workflows. Currently, the plugins are available for ChatGPT Plus and GPT-4 users.
Top 10 Best ChatGPT Plugins
There are several plugins available in the market, and with the boom of artificial intelligence, every day a new plugin is introduced for the convenience of people.
Let’s explore the 10 Best ChatGPT plugins.
1. Zapier Plugin
- Category: Automation
- Zapier helps to automate workflows across Gmail, Slack, Trello, and Google Sheets. Founded in 2012, it has partnered with around 8000+ apps. A user can make their own IT desk and onboard systems or route the leads through Zapier.
- Use Case: Conversion of client emails to Trello cards from emails or auto-update CRMs.
- Best For: Sales, operations, project managers, and cross-team operations.
- ChatGPT User Tip: When an email arrives, add it to Google Sheets to automate the process.
2. WebPilot 2.0
- Category: Research
- It allows you to chat and QA with any webpage. Also helps in writing email responses, solving puzzles, and generating summaries.
- Use Case: It researches industry trends or news, provides insights, and compares product reviews.
- Best For: Journalists, Content creators, and researchers.
- ChatGPT User Tip: Ask ChatGPT for “Summary and Keytakeaways” for insights.
3. ChatWithPDF
- Category: Document Parsing
- It is an AI-powered plugin that allows users to ask questions and answer them from large PDFs, contracts, and eBooks. The plugin helps generate the summary and find specific sections quickly.
- Use Case: You may generate a report of a legal file, review the various clauses, and summarize them without manual scanning.
- Best For: Lawyers, students, and consultants
- ChatGPT User Tip: Give a specific query – “Summarize sectionX”
4. Link Reader Pro
- Category: Information Extraction
- Allows ChatGPT to read and extract content from shared links, generate key points and a summary, and answer the questions asked.
- Use Case: Provide a link to government sites and ask questions to them to generate stats or insights.
- Best For: Researchers, Educators, Professionals working with heavy information.
- ChatGPT User Tip: Give the prompt: “Summarize in x points”.
5. Code Interpreter (Advanced Data Analysis)
- Category: Analytics & Development
- It allows the systems to write and execute code. The plugin is related to AI and LLM and can perform complex tasks and computations.
- Use Case: Get a revenue forecast in the form of bar charts (visual charts) of sales data in a CSV file.
- Best For: Data scientists, developers, engineers, and business professionals.
- ChatGPT User Tip: Upload file and use prompt “Clean this dataset and summarize outliers”.
6. Speak (Language Translator & Coach)
- Category: Communication
- Language learning tool that translates text or practices a language with natural feedback. Helps in improving language skills.
- Use Case: If you’re planning a trip to France, learn the French key phrases for effective communication and understanding by translating them into English or your native language.
- Best For: Multilingual teams, travelers, Students, Educators.
- ChatGPT User Tip: Use the prompt “How do I say this phrase in Spanish?” or “Correct the grammar in the sentence”.
7. Prompt Perfect
- Category: Prompt Engineering
- The plugin provides the optimization of your ChatGPT prompts for better outputs. The tailored suggestions are the AI responses for better results.
- Use Case: In case you want to write an article professionally, PromptPerfect improves results for copywriting or storytelling.
- Best For: Power users, writers, AI trainers, and Beginner Prompt Engineering learners.
- ChatGPT User Tip: Write short prompts, and Prompt Perfect will refine them.
8. TrelloGPT
- Category: Project Management
- It allows you to view, edit, and create Trello boards directly within ChatGPT to automate tasks, generate stories of completed boards, or generate meeting notes.
- Use Case: Turn meeting notes into Trello tasks, generate task links for a new sprint.
- Best For: Project Manager, dev teams, agile leads.
- ChatGPT User Tip: Write prompt as “Create a new card with Client Feedback on Web Project Board”.
9. Expedia Plugin
- Category: Travel Planning
- It is a tool for trip planning with GPT Search. It finds flights, compares pricing, and books flights and hotels within the chat.
- Use Case: You can plan business trips or vacations with the Expedia plugin and book hotels and rental cars.
- Best For: Travel agents and business professionals.
- ChatGPT User Tip: Provide the travelling dates, preferences, destination, and budget for a better output.
10. FiscalNote (News & Regulation)
- Category: Policy & Compliance
- The AI tool provides legal, regulatory, and political data insights. It provides a track of government policies and actions.
- Use Case: Corporate teams use it to stay updated with the labour laws.
- Best For: Policy analysts, corporate legal teams, and Lawyers.
- ChatGPT User Tip: Frame questions specifically like “What regulations impact the digital apps?” to get precise answers.
Also Read: Top AI Chatbots for Real Conversations
How to Use ChatGPT Plugins (Step-by-Step Guide)
The foremost thing that you need for setting up ChatGPT plugins is a ChatGPT Plus subscription. This plan offers the additional functionality of the plugins. After getting a subscription, you need to follow the steps for the plugin installation.
- Log in to your ChatGPT account through OpenAI, web, or app.
- Then start a new session and search for the plugin menu in the chat interface. This will be located in the sidebar of the settings area.
- Now you can click on the plugins menu to open the plugin. There you find the options to browse, install, and manage the plug-ins.
- With a click, you can install the plugins and manage them under my GPTs and create your own GPT by defining the instructions, enabling certain tools, and connecting them with external applications.
- Some external plug-ins may require the additional step of creating an account or agreeing to the terms of service on the developer’s website. To complete the installation process, you need to follow the prompts.
- After installation, the plug-in will appear in your list of installed plugins. Let us consider an example.
- Plug-ins like Kayak and Expedia allow users to book and search flights, hotels, and rental cars. These can be considered as the travel plugins that are available with ChatGPT. The users can get personalised recommendations.
Also Read: How Much Does it Cost to Build an AI Chatbot?
Tips to Choose the Right Plugins for Your Workflow
To choose the right plug-in for your workflow, you need to first decide what your goals are. May it be in automation research, communication, or productivity? Then you need to find out the plug-ins that align with your goals and integrate them into your daily routine. Let’s see how you can choose the right plugin for your workflow.
- Define your goals – You can browse the plug-in store and see which plug-ins can help you with your work. These tools can help you automate your work analysis, research, learning, and communication. Narrow down your choices, and then you can choose from the plug-in list.
- Look for integration with existing tools – The best plugins should be able to integrate with the common tools to enhance your workflow. These should be available for integration in Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 Drive, Sheets, or Outlook to deliver the best.
- Start with 2 or 3 high-value plugins. There are a dozen options available, and it might be confusing for you, but choose 2 or 3 plug-ins that help you relieve your pain point.
- Fourth, monitor the results and change the plug-ins if required. Use them in your daily routine and check if it is able to save your time, reduce your manual tasks, or improve your productivity. If it is adding value, then it may be a good choice. But if not, then try the other alternatives and keep optimising them.
Conclusion
There are a lot of AI-powered productivity tools available in the market. ChatGPT has enhanced its capabilities with the use of these tools as plugins, and you can now automate your workflow. These third-party services have not only saved time but also improved productivity and capabilities. A user gets more focused and accurate responses with the ChatGPT plug-ins. Also, you can work on a single application, that is ChatGPT, along with a few other features of different applications, without switching between them.
With the AI in everyday life, these plugins provide real-time information and all have been specialised for specific domains and capabilities, making them a more powerful and customisable tool. It has not only improved the user experience but also streamlined the workflows. As a naive user, you must try 2 to 3 plugins mentioned in this blog to see the real changes that ChatGPT plug-ins can make in your lives and make your work easier. If you are an experienced user, we would request you to share your favourite and best ChatGPT plugins and how they have been changing your lives so far. You can also develop a ChatGPT plugin with Infowind Technologies.
