In plain English
- What happened
- OpenAI is moving custom GPTs over to plugins. A plugin brings reusable instructions, reference files and connected apps together, so your guidance works alongside the tools and information a task needs. The help centre says GPTs are "scheduled to retire on Dec 11, 2026", across every ChatGPT plan, with creation of new ones ending on October 26. Until then everything you have keeps running, and there is a migration tool that moves a GPT's instructions and files across for you.
- Why it matters to your business
- If you built a GPT for your business — a quoting helper, an onboarding assistant, something you gave to staff or customers — there is a route forward for it and time to take it. Migration carries your instructions and knowledge files into the plugin. What it does not carry is your people: OpenAI says a migrated plugin "starts private", so anyone you shared the original with will need to be handed the replacement.
- Do this
- A good first step is opening My GPTs and publishing the final version of anything you rely on, since migration copies the latest published version and unpublished edits are left behind. It is also worth noting which of your GPTs use custom actions — those connections do not transfer, so they need rebuilding rather than moving.
The dates that matter
OpenAI has published a timeline, with the caveat that the dates are subject to change. The two that need to be in your calendar are the creation freeze in October and the shutdown in December.
| Date | What happens |
|---|---|
| Sep 22, 2026 | Target for the migration tool and user banner |
| Oct 26, 2026 | Creation of new custom GPTs ends (planned) |
| Dec 11, 2026 | Custom GPTs stop running and leave the directory |
| Feb 11, 2027 | Later date, Enterprise workspaces with an approved deferral only |
That last row is narrow. OpenAI says the February date "applies only to workspaces with a qualified, approved deferral", so unless someone has told you otherwise, December 11 is your date. The creation freeze in October does not stop you editing GPTs you already have.
What moves across, and what does not
Migration runs from My GPTs, where a "Migrate to plugin" option appears once it reaches your account. Your instructions become a skill inside the new plugin, your knowledge files are copied to reference files, and connected apps come along.
Three things do not come with it. Custom actions — the connections a GPT uses to reach another service — "do not transfer automatically", and rebuilding one may need a custom server and technical help. The model you chose does not carry over. And your existing conversations stay where they are; OpenAI says migration "doesn't move your existing GPT conversations" into the plugin.
Migration copies the GPT's latest published version. Drafts and unpublished edits do not transfer, so publish before you migrate.
The part that catches people who shared one
This is the detail worth reading twice. Migration does not carry over sharing settings. The new plugin starts private, and OpenAI says making it public "requires a separate plugin submission process." Anyone who had a link to your GPT — staff, clients, people who paid for access — does not automatically get the replacement.
There is a second trap if you use somebody else's GPT. Access to the original does not guarantee access to its replacement, and a public GPT built inside an affected Enterprise workspace is included in that workspace's transition even if you use it from a personal account. What matters is where the GPT was created, not which plan you are on.
What to do, in order
- 1
List what you actually use, before October 26
Open My GPTs and write down the ones you or your team genuinely rely on, and who else has the link. The creation freeze lands first, so anything you were planning to build, build now.
- 2
Publish the final version of each one
Migration copies the latest published version only. If your best instructions are sitting in an unpublished draft, they are lost. Publishing does not mean sharing it publicly.
- 3
Flag the ones with custom actions
Those integrations do not transfer, and rebuilding one is a technical job rather than a click. If a GPT connects to your booking system or CRM, budget time for it or plan to do without.
- 4
Migrate one, then test it before trusting it
Run the prompts you normally use and compare the answers. OpenAI notes a migrated plugin may respond differently. The original stays usable until December but becomes read-only once migrated, so make final edits first.
- 5
Tell the people who used it
Sharing does not follow the migration. Anyone you gave the GPT to needs to be handed the replacement, and if you shared it publicly that is a separate submission. Do this before December, not during.
- 6
Keep the source material outside the tool
Whatever you uploaded as knowledge — your policies, price lists, FAQs — should live in your own shared drive as the master copy. Then the next migration is an upload, not a rebuild.
Reality check
There is no advantage in migrating on day one. The original keeps working until December 11 and goes read-only the moment you migrate, so there is no prize for being early and a real cost to migrating before you have finished editing. The genuine deadline is October 26, and it is about publishing, not migrating.
The wider lesson is the one worth keeping. A custom GPT was never a product you owned; it was a configuration living inside somebody else's app, and the vendor changed its mind about the container. The instructions and documents you wrote are the asset. Keep those where you control them, and whichever assistant reads them next is a detail rather than a migration.
Sources
