ChatGPT, designed by OpenAI, is a powerful AI chatbot that can generate human-like responses to text-based prompts. With its advanced natural language processing capabilities, it can understand and generate text in a wide range of contexts and styles. This makes it an ideal tool for businesses looking to improve brand-customer interactions and automate various processes. However, like every AI-based tool, ChatGPT is not limitless. That’s why plugins are now on the rise.
In this article, we’ll explain what are ChatGPT plugins. How do they work? And what benefits do they offer to businesses that want to take advantage of AI and power up their internal and external processes?
What are the plugins for ChatGPT?
You probably know already that ChatGPT can be a huge support for businesses, from content creation to data analysis. However, even though the tool can do a lot, it’s blocked by certain conditions. It doesn’t have all the current knowledge, and it’s not connected to the Internet. Moreover, if you want the system to learn from certain documents, you need to copy their text. You can’t upload files to the chat. The AI has to be somewhat led at all stages of collaboration to produce satisfying outputs.
These problems can be fixed with ChatGPT plugins. What are they exactly? To understand how they work, you need to know one thing. ChatGPT is the interface cover for a large language model (LLM) called GPT. That’s why it’s possible to integrate with the model via API. Thus, one can create new tools that don’t have the mentioned above drawbacks (stay tuned for the upcoming blog post about it!). Preparing such solutions is the best option for businesses that need a custom solution to enhance their processes with AI.
However, recently OpenAI announced plugins which are ChatGPT add-ons that can broaden its capabilities with new features. These extensions are dedicated tools to be used while conversing with the chat itself. What’s interesting is that, according to the company, the model itself will be able to decide which plugin would be useful at a particular moment of the conversation. For example, if you want to know what’s the weather in a specific location, and have a weather-related plugin turned on, ChatGPT will use it to check the forecast and provide a detailed response.
Why ChatGPT plugins are the next big thing?
The idea behind ChatGPT plugins is to create a catalog (in other words, a marketplace) where users will be able to browse through all the available extensions and install the ones they’re interested in. Each plugin will create a new way to interact with the main ChatGPT interface. This brings a plethora of possibilities for businesses and individual users. For example, a plugin that connects ChatGPT with a CRM enables managers to ask for sales data, analyze it, and make better decisions.
It’s predicted that the market for ChatGPT plugins will rapidly grow. OpenAI’s tool will be used for even more tasks than it does at the moment. It will be capable of multitasking and handling many requests at once. That might be extremely helpful for projects with many different to-dos.
ChatGPT can already plan a week-long holiday trip. Powered with plugins, it could also book accommodation, buy tickets for main attractions, and find the best transportation. Thanks to plugins, everything will be done via ChatGPT’s interface. There won’t be a need to integrate the GPT model into external systems with API. We will explore the subject further in future articles, where we will take a closer look at the technicalities of ChatGPT plugins.
Examples of popular plugins for ChatGPT
Plugins allow ChatGPT users to interact with various services and applications directly through the tool’s interface. Here are a few examples of how it works:
- One of the most promising solutions is the code-interpreting plugin that tests written code to help programmers improve their work. It uses a live testing environment to check the code in real-time and provide advice on making it better.
- Plugins from providers like KAYAK and Expedia are dedicated to making travel planning seamless. Finding the best flight deals, renting cars, comparing rental prices, and looking for recommended places can be all done by ChatGPT. And it considers all user requirements.
- Zapier is a standalone tool that connects thousands of apps for better interoperability. Thanks to its ChatGPT plugin, it becomes even more advanced. Together, they create a unified environment that automates a plethora of online activities.
- Wolfram Alpha also prepared a ChatGPT plugin that significantly influences the capabilities of the tool. It’s a set of additional tools that positively improve the science-related results produced by ChatGPT.
Right now, plugin development is available for a handful of brands. The rest of the companies have to sign up for OpenAI’s waitlist. Since ChatGPT is the latest market hit in so many industries, the interest in creating plugins is quite high.
Benefits of plugins for ChatGPT
The main advantage of using ChatGPT plugins is basically expanding its, already impressive, capabilities. Here is a list of perks businesses can get if they invest in a ChatGPT solution with additional plugins:
- Internet access: This will give ChatGPT a chance to use the current knowledge, which will improve the results it delivers.
- All-in-one interactions: Thanks to plugins, ChatGPT can be the only tool needed to do most of the online operations.
- Enhanced productivity: Plugins offer the ability to work with files and edit them directly. This shortens and simplifies the whole process of working with ChatGPT.
- Universal assistant: With the right amount of plugins, ChatGPT could become a virtual command center. In other words, it can be one place to control every app and tool used by a company or individual.
- Increased visibility: Having a ChatGPT plugin helps brands reach out to completely new audiences and extend their reach.
- New communication channel: Companies will be able to communicate with their clients in a completely new way. It will give them exciting possibilities to test novelty marketing and sales techniques.
Potential challenges of using ChatGPT Plugins
While ChatGPT plugins offer many benefits, there are also potential drawbacks or difficulties to consider. Most of them come from the limitations of the AI models that every user should be aware of. Here’s what to keep in mind when working on an AI-driven solution:
- Being dependent on the quality of the ChatGPT model: ChatGPT plugins rely on the accuracy of the solution itself. We all know it’s not perfect yet – and it might never be. That’s why even a plugin that broadens the capabilities and knowledge of the model can still produce errors or inconsistent responses.
- Potential biases and false information: ChatGPT and other AI models that are trained on large datasets may contain stereotypes and other harmful information. This can result in perpetuating biases in the outputs, which could be harmful to the business. It’s always important to double-check produced responses to also eliminate untrue facts, non-existent statistics, or unreliable sources of data.
- Limited customization options: ChatGPT plugins can make the solution more adjusted to the brand’s goals and visions. However, they might not provide enough flexibility for some needs. Generic responses that are not in tune with the company’s tone of voice won’t be helpful. They can actually add more work.
- Finding the right AI partner: Since ChatGPT is still relatively new, it’s not easy to find a trustworthy, reliable software provider that will create a high-quality solution with the use of plugins. It’s important to pay attention to the agency’s expertise. Also, ask questions to determine if they have the right specialists on board.
Conclusion
ChatGPT plugins will add new features to the great tool many people already use. This will increase the accuracy of the results and grow the efficiency of using the solution. Thus, it might result in an even broader adaptation of this AI-driven system, especially within organizations. Moreover, all the benefits brought by these extensions can be gained without any extensive custom software development. The only requirement is access to the ChatGPT interface and the right set of plugins adjusted to the business needs of the user.
The whole concept reminds us of the mobile app market. It boomed some years ago and became an ordinary part of our lives. Every time we need a tool that will be responsible for a specific task, we find a dedicated app. ChatGPT plugins will work similarly. You will get free and paid add-ons that will do everything you need within the chat’s interface. Since this area of AI is still emerging, we’re observing the situation. Especially, when it comes to data safety and privacy issues. Still, we believe it will be another factor that will revolutionize the way we use digital spaces.
By using the right plugins and following the best practices we’ve mentioned in this article, we can build ChatGPT-based virtual assistants and apps to enhance almost any task and process within a company. As a software agency that already does AI projects, we are aware of its potential and limitations. Check out what we can do for you and book a free consultation. Find out how ChatGPT and other AI tools can take your business to the next level.
