Unlock ChatGPT: The 7 best plugins you need to know in 2023

Briefly

• A plugin is an add-on that integrates ChatGPT's artificial intelligence-based chatbot with other applications.
• The first ChatGPT plugins to launch included plugins for Expedia, Kayak, Shopify, Wolfram Alpha, and Zapier.
• ChatGPT plugins are rapidly expanding the artificial intelligence space with solutions for fields as diverse as education, law, gaming, and content creation.

Plugins have become crucial to learning, understanding, and interacting with artificial intelligence. Thanks to the flexibility provided by OpenAI ChatGPT, chatbots are appearing everywhere and are becoming more and more finely crafted.

What is a plugin?

A ChatGPT plugin is a software add-on developed by developers that integrates other applications into the ChatGPT chatbot with artificial intelligence and allows you to implement features beyond those originally included in ChatGPT. These plug-ins manage the interaction between the application and the ChatGPT API.

In March, OpenAI announced the first set of ChatGPT plugins. The small set of plugins included Expedia, Kayak, Shopify, Wolfram (Wolfram Alpha), and Zapier. The plugins are currently only available to ChatGPT Plus subscribers using GPT-4, the latest version of the popular chatbot.

How to install ChatGPT plugins

Subscribing to ChatGPT Plus gives users access to GPT-4, the latest iteration of ChatGPT. Selecting GPT-4 from the drop-down list will offer three options to continue:

• Default
• Browse with Bing
• Plugins

In the beta version, the Browse with Bing and Plugins options allow users to play with features not available in the public version of GPT-3.5. To get started, select the plugins option. Another drop-down list will appear: "Plugins not enabled". Scroll down and select "Plugin Store".

From here you can open the plugin store, where you can find the entire list of available ChatGPT plugins. New plugins are released frequently.

In this article, we'll take a look at 7 ChatGPT plugins available today to help you start taking advantage of these powerful extensions.

1. Kayak

The popular travel site, which was one of the first to create the ChatGPT plugin, allows users to search for flights, hotels and other options from the ChatGPT interface. By asking a simple question such as "How much does it cost to fly from New York to Los Angeles from August 21, 2023 to September 15, 2023?" the chatbot will provide a list of options including airlines, airports, times and costs. The plugin will also provide links to the Kayak website for booking.

2. Wolfram Alpha

Some might argue that Wolfram Alpha did what ChatGPT does many years before OpenAI came to Sam Altman's attention. Nevertheless, Wolfram was one of the first to create a plug-in for ChatGPT, bringing its computational skills to GPT-4. As with the web version, asking Wolfram Alpha a math problem will get you an answer, but this time in ChatGPT style.

3. AskYourPDF

AskYourPDF is a plugin that, once installed, allows users to ask questions related to a PDF file link they specify. The plugin gives a brief description of the PDF file, and in response to a specific question it answers it and indicates the location of the page where the required information can be found.

4. VoxScript

With VoxScript, users can generate short descriptions of web pages by URL. In the case of links to videos, the plugin will provide an overview and description of the video presented. In the case of video clips, VoxScript will ask the user if they need to continue describing the content of the video link after the first few seconds.

5. PlaylistAI

PlaylistAI creates a playlist on Spotify based on user prompts. For the plugin to work, you need to provide access to Spotify. When you enter a query like "Create a playlist based on A Perfect Circle", the plugin will generate a list of A Perfect Circle songs and similar bands. The plugin will then provide a link to the playlist on Spotify.

6. Horoscope

If you want to find out what the stars have in store for you, the Horoscope GPT-4 plugin can help. After giving the chatbot your zodiac sign (or date of birth if it's unknown), Horoscope provides several levels of advice on your personal life, health, travel, professional life, and emotional state. The plugin can provide daily, weekly or monthly readings.

7. ScholarAI

The ScholarAI plugin is designed for searching academic and research papers. With ScholarAI, users can retrieve abstracts of scholarly literature or full text with the URL of a PDF file, and then search specific sections of the PDF file. In addition to providing the desired information, ScholarAI also provides links to books or other sources where relevant content can be found.

What other types of plugins are there?

Since March, the list of plugins in the ChatGPT plugin store has grown significantly, with over 400 plugins now available to ChatGPT Plus subscribers. It's an eclectic mix of plugins: blockchain analytics, weather forecasts, text and image generators, bartending tutorials, financial data, and creating the perfect Midjourney prompt.