Are Custom GPTs Going Away? The December 11 Retirement and How to Migrate

OpenAI is replacing Custom GPTs with plugins. The work that matters is keeping the instructions, integrations and access that made each GPT useful.

Yes. OpenAI has scheduled Custom GPTs to retire on December 11, 2026, and its retirement FAQ says the change affects every ChatGPT plan. Enterprise workspaces with a qualified, approved deferral have until February 11, 2027. OpenAI's most detailed published schedule covers Enterprise, so check the notice on the account or workspace where the GPT was created. OpenAI's retirement FAQ sets out the current terms, and the September 11 release note announced the plan.

At retirement, GPTs and their GPT pages become inaccessible. A writing assistant, an internal reporting workflow and a publicly shared customer tool can all be Custom GPTs, and the work needed to replace each one differs considerably.

What still works today?

OpenAI's creation and editing guide separates building something new from maintaining what already exists.

Personal Free, Go, Plus and Pro accounts can no longer create or publish new GPTs. Existing GPTs stay usable, and editing them still depends on the subscription and permissions attached to the account. Duplicating a GPT creates another GPT, so do not rely on copying an existing one as a workaround for the creation restriction. OpenAI's guide does not separately spell out duplication availability for every personal plan.

Business, Enterprise and Edu workspaces keep creation, editing and publishing where workspace settings and role permissions allow them. A Plus subscription does not override the personal-account restriction, so a missing Create option on Plus is expected behavior. OpenAI's sharing guide describes which sharing options each account type still has.

The retirement timeline

The October cutoff is documented for Enterprise. It should not be applied to Business or Edu workspaces without a notice that says so. Enterprise creators who need to migrate a draft should publish it before the cutoff. Publishing does not require public sharing.

Migration rollout targets are a separate matter. OpenAI's pages have carried different target dates, and the FAQ states that a target does not guarantee the option appears for every account on that day. Plan around your own notice, then leave time to test. OpenAI labels its Enterprise milestones as subject to change.

What replaces Custom GPTs?

The replacement is a plugin: a reusable package for a workflow that can contain skills, apps, or both. A skill holds instructions and any reference files. An app connects ChatGPT to an outside service. Some plugins contain only skills and need no connection at all. OpenAI's plugin-building guide walks through the parts.

The way people start the work also changes. Instead of opening a specific GPT, users can select an installed plugin or skill with an @ mention, and ChatGPT may choose a relevant installed skill automatically when its description matches the request. Automatic selection does not happen on every request, so test both routes.

Plugins run in Chat and Work across ChatGPT on the web, desktop and mobile, and in Codex. A plugin marked Desktop only needs the desktop app and will not run on the web or mobile, so a workflow built on one will not follow its users onto their phones.

Where Plugin Creator is available, a new workflow can be described in a conversation without writing code. That route depends on workspace availability and the Use plugins permission.

What migrates, and what needs attention?

OpenAI's migration guide and the FAQ document the transfer:

That table describes configuration moving across. Whether the result still does the job is a separate question, and OpenAI says a migrated plugin may respond differently.

Pick acceptance tests around the work itself. For a proposal assistant, that might be whether it uses the right template, applies the pricing rules and produces a complete document. For a reporting assistant, it might be whether the data connection works and the output still contains every field the team relies on. Save familiar prompts and good results before migrating, and include at least one harder case, so there is something concrete to compare against.

Finish important edits first

Migration locks the original. The GPT stays usable until retirement but becomes read-only, and its creator can no longer delete it. Future changes belong in the plugin, so finish and publish essential edits before converting.

Actions are a separate integration project

A GPT action connects to an external API through an OpenAPI schema in JSON or YAML, using no authentication, an API key or OAuth. OpenAI's action documentation covers that setup.

Actions do not transfer. Any feature that depends on one stops working in the plugin until a replacement is in place. OpenAI points to two routes: an existing app that supports the needed tasks, or a custom MCP server, which may need technical setup and additional permissions. OpenAI also cautions that a rebuilt integration should not be assumed to provide every capability of the original action.

Treat the existing action configuration as an inventory of endpoints, authentication method, scopes and approval behavior. Then confirm that the operations that matter actually work: retrieving a record, creating an item, updating a field or returning a file. A clean instructions transfer says nothing about whether credentials and scopes work in the new setup. OpenAI does not document assisted transfer of action API keys or OAuth client secrets, so check the replacement's authentication setup separately.

Our MCP explainer covers the connection layer behind this work.

Personal accounts: plan for less certainty

Most of OpenAI's detailed migration documentation is written for Enterprise. For Free, Go, Plus and Pro, the FAQ says migration and plugin access may differ by account. The plugin directory is available across plans, while individual capabilities depend on account and workspace access. OpenAI's plugins article separately describes personal Skills as generally available to Business, Enterprise, Healthcare and Edu users. That availability statement is not a personal-account migration schedule. The current documentation does not give a migration date for Free, Go, Plus or Pro.

If you created a GPT on a personal account, look for Migrate to plugin in My GPTs. If it is not there yet, check the notice on the GPT and save its configuration now: instructions, knowledge files, conversation starters and a few prompts with results you were happy with.

A ChatGPT Project can hold instructions and files as a stopgap, though OpenAI does not present it as the replacement. Moving instructions into a Project does not migrate GPT Actions. Projects can use supported connected apps, but those are a separate setup. File limits vary by plan, from 5 files on Free to 25 on Go and Plus and 40 on Pro. OpenAI's Projects guide also states that chats created with a GPT cannot be moved into a project.

Public GPTs have an audience problem too

A creator can preserve the workflow and still leave its users with nowhere to go.

The current FAQ makes no redirect promise. GPT pages become inaccessible at retirement, and the migration guide says retired GPTs leave the GPT directory. A migrated personal plugin starts private, and making it public requires a separate plugin submission. Nothing documented carries a GPT's ratings, ranking or accumulated distribution into the plugin directory.

Where the GPT was created also matters. Public GPTs created in affected Enterprise workspaces follow the Enterprise transition even when people use them from a personal account or another workspace.

Links inside courses, onboarding guides, websites and newsletters will need updating. Creator migrations therefore have two acceptance tests:

1. 1Can the replacement do the work?
2. 2Can the intended users reach and use it?

Announce the switch only after both pass.

Teams should test access with an ordinary user

OpenAI's admin documentation treats plugin installation and access to a plugin's apps as separate controls. In Enterprise and Edu, a member can have a plugin installed and still be blocked from an included app.

An administrator's successful test proves little about a teammate's experience. Ask someone from the intended audience to install the replacement with their normal account and run the required tasks, including any app authorization and approvals.

Several Enterprise specifics are documented:

• A GPT's creator or a workspace admin can migrate it once plugins are enabled and the GPT is published. Permission to use a GPT does not include permission to migrate it.
• Admins can migrate GPTs in bulk through the ChatGPT Admin plugin. Bulk migration does not copy sharing settings, so each replacement must be shared manually.
• Sharing a plugin requires Share plugins, and publishing it to the workspace directory requires Publish plugins to workspace. Users need Use plugins and an installation policy that lets them install the plugin or installs it for them.
• Converting a GPT does not consume credits. Under credit-based pricing, editing a plugin does, and tasks in Work consume credits based on the model and tokens used.

When a creator leaves an Enterprise or Edu workspace, their GPTs transfer to a workspace owner and are marked unassigned, according to OpenAI's GPT administration guidance. Confirm who owns each GPT before assigning migration work. Business workspaces have less published detail, so follow the workspace notice there.

A practical migration checklist

1. 1Decide what to keep. List the GPTs people still rely on, along with their owners and users. Unused experiments can retire with the platform.
2. 2Record required behavior. Save familiar prompts, good outputs and one harder case.
3. 3Finish and publish edits. The original becomes read-only after migration.
4. 4Migrate when the option appears. Use the creator's account, or an Enterprise workspace admin.
5. 5Test the actual job. Check instructions, reference files, formatting, tools and skill selection.
6. 6Rebuild actions and confirm access. Have an intended user install and run the replacement.
7. 7Explain the switch. Share the new link, update guides and name an owner for future changes.

Choosely's verdict

Migrate the GPTs that still earn their place, and judge each replacement by the result it delivers to the people who use it. Simple instruction-and-file assistants should need the least work. GPTs built on custom actions, strict output formats or public distribution deserve an earlier start, because each depends on something the built-in migration does not carry. Treat a migration as finished when the workflow is tested and its intended users can reach it.

Frequently asked questions

Why can't I create a Custom GPT on Plus anymore?

OpenAI has removed new GPT creation and publishing from personal accounts, including Plus and Pro. Existing GPTs remain usable, and editing them depends on the subscription and permissions.

What happens to existing GPT conversations?

OpenAI says they remain accessible after retirement without any action. Migration does not promise to carry them into the plugin, and chats created with a GPT cannot be moved into a project.

Can I migrate a GPT that someone else created?

Using a GPT does not give permission to migrate it. Ask its creator or, in an Enterprise workspace, an admin.

Can I delete a GPT after migrating it?

No. Once migrated, the original is read-only and its creator cannot delete it.

Can migration happen after retirement?

OpenAI's Enterprise migration guide says yes, although the original GPT will no longer run. No equivalent statement exists for personal accounts, so plan to migrate before retirement.

Does migration mean my team is ready to switch?

No. Confirm the required behavior, integrations and recipient access before announcing the transition.

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