OpenAI announces "custom GPTs" and the GPT Store at its first DevDay
On November 6, 2023, at its first developer conference “DevDay” held in San Francisco, OpenAI announced “GPTs” — custom versions of ChatGPT that anyone can build without writing any code. By simply combining instructions, reference data, and capabilities like web browsing and data analysis, anyone can now create a custom AI suited for anything from personal use to public release.
Details
- How GPTs work: Users can create an original version of ChatGPT by combining instructions, knowledge files, and capabilities (such as web browsing and data analysis) with no coding required. Integration with external APIs (custom actions) is also supported
- Availability: Rolled out to ChatGPT Plus and Enterprise users starting the same day. The Enterprise version also allows GPTs to be shared internally only
- GPT Store preview: OpenAI announced a “GPT Store” — where users could browse and search GPTs from verified creators — would launch later that month (the actual launch was delayed to January 10, 2024)
- Monetization plans: OpenAI said it also planned a system to compensate creators based on usage
- Other announcements the same day: Numerous other developer-facing features were unveiled simultaneously, including GPT-4 Turbo (with 128K context) and the Assistants API
What happened next
GPTs and the GPT Store marked a turning point that broadened ChatGPT’s positioning from a single chatbot into a platform users could customize for different purposes. The GPT Store officially launched in January 2024, two months behind the original announcement, and has since served as the foundation for agent and custom-tool deployment within ChatGPT.