How ChatGPT plugins get discovered.
OpenAI documents that a published ChatGPT plugin is found by link or by name, and that suggestions and directory placement go only to plugins it selects. KailxLabs is measuring what that looks like in practice. So far we have one pilot: on 9 Oct 2026 the directory front page held 96 slots on 16 shelves, and a directory search for CRM returned 47 listings without HubSpot. The studies on suggestions inside conversations have not run yet, and this page shows no numbers for them.
What we counted so far.
One day, logged out, on the public directory. Exploratory. Every number below is in the data files.
slots on the directory front page, across 16 shelves, filled by 91 different listings.
KailxLabs snapshot · chatgpt.com/plugins, logged out · 9 Oct 2026
results for the search CRM had CRM in the listing name or short description.
KailxLabs pilot · 1 query, run twice, same results · 9 Oct 2026
results for "customer relationship management" and for "crm for small business".
KailxLabs pilot · 2 queries, 1 run each · 9 Oct 2026
Nine queries cannot show how directory search works. They show it can be read from outside, the same way twice, without an account.
What OpenAI says.
Read at the source on 9 Oct 2026. OpenAI's developer pages show no date, so the source date for them is the day we read them.
| Documented | Source | Source date | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT and Codex share one plugin directory. | OpenAI, Developer docs, plugin concepts | Not dated | 9 Oct 2026 |
| A published plugin is found by a direct link to its listing or by a search for its name. | OpenAI, Developer docs, publish and review | Not dated | 9 Oct 2026 |
| Directory placement and proactive suggestions go only to plugins OpenAI selects, which it calls enhanced distribution. Developers cannot request it. | OpenAI, Developer docs, publish and review | Not dated | 9 Oct 2026 |
| The stated criteria are strong utility in real use and high user satisfaction. No signals, weights or thresholds are published. | OpenAI, Developer docs, publish and review | Not dated | 9 Oct 2026 |
| ChatGPT can suggest a plugin during a conversation, and what a user sees depends on the account and where ChatGPT is used. | OpenAI, Help Center, Plugins in ChatGPT | Updated early Oct 2026 | 9 Oct 2026 |
| For installed plugins, ChatGPT and Codex decide when to call a tool based on the metadata the developer provides. | OpenAI, Developer docs, optimize metadata | Not dated | 9 Oct 2026 |
| Plugin text must not tell the model to prefer one plugin over others or interfere with fair discovery. | OpenAI, Developer docs, plugin guidelines | Not dated | 9 Oct 2026 |
| Plugins must not serve advertisements, and may currently conduct commerce only for physical goods. | OpenAI, Developer docs, plugin guidelines | Not dated | 9 Oct 2026 |
| On 29 Sep 2026 OpenAI said ranking and recommendations for plugins were improved in the directory and in conversations. | OpenAI, DevDay 2026 recap | 29 Sep 2026 | 9 Oct 2026 |
Known, measurable, unknown.
We keep these apart on every page about plugins.
Documented by OpenAI
One shared directory. Found by link or name by default. Suggestions and shelves for selected plugins only. Tool selection for installed plugins rests on developer metadata. No ads inside plugins.
Can be counted from outside
Directory shelves and directory search, with no account. Which tool runs once a plugin is installed. Whether any plugin is suggested on an account with nothing installed. ChatGPT against Codex.
Not established by anyone
The recommendation method and its signals. What user satisfaction measures. How often suggestions appear. Whether memory, plan or region change them. How keywords are used. How many plugins exist.
The directory search pilot.
Method: each query typed into the search box on chatgpt.com/plugins, logged out, on 9 Oct 2026. We recorded how many listings came back and their order.
| Query | Kind | Results | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|
| HubSpot | Plugin name | 2 | HubSpot listed first |
| Gusto | Plugin name | 2 | Both results are Gusto listings |
| CRM | Category word | 47 | 45 have CRM in the name or short description. HubSpot is not among the 47. Run twice: same 47, same order. |
| customer relationship management | Category phrase | 0 | No results |
| crm for small business | Buyer phrase | 0 | No results |
| payroll | Category word | 3 | Gusto twice, then PayCanvas |
| keyword research | Category phrase | 4 | Semrush listed first |
| email marketing | Category phrase | 6 | 5 have the phrase in the name or short description |
| Insights to action | Words from one listing | 1 | HubSpot, whose short description starts with those words |
Limits
- Nine queries, one day, one location, logged out. Exploratory under the standard we use for client work.
- A logged in search may return different results. Not tested.
- Only the name and short description are visible in results, so we cannot say why a listing with no matching words appeared.
- A match between query words and listing words is correlation. It does not show that changing the words changes the results.
- Nothing here describes suggestions inside a conversation.
Data files
- Directory shelves, 9 Oct 2026: 96 rows. Shelf, position, plugin name, short description, listing id.
- Search pilot, 9 Oct 2026: 9 rows. Query, kind, runs, results returned, first results in order.
Both files are free to reuse with credit to KailxLabs and a link to this page.
Four studies, in order.
Questions, samples and counting rules were written down before any data was collected. No study shows a finding until its data file is ready.
| Study | Status | Surface | Sample | Needs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. What the plugin directory shows, and for which words | Pilot done | Directory, logged out | 100 fixed queries and every front page shelf, daily for 14 days | Nothing. Starts next. |
| 2. Does ChatGPT suggest plugins nobody installed? | Planned | ChatGPT, logged in, nothing installed | 60 prompts across five kinds of request, 10 runs each | A ChatGPT account kept only for measurement |
| 3. ChatGPT against Codex on the same task | Planned | ChatGPT and Codex, reported apart | 30 tasks, 5 runs on each | Study 2 first |
| 4. Does changing listing text change discovery? | Planned | One plugin we control | A worked prompt set against an untouched control set, one field changed per round | A plugin we control. The only design here that can show cause. |
Results will be reported as counts, such as 7 of 10 runs, per surface. We will not publish a rank for a plugin, and we will not say a listing change caused a recommendation unless study 4 supports it.
Plugin questions, answered.
What are ChatGPT plugins in 2026?
Plugins are packages of skills and connected apps that people install in ChatGPT and Codex from one shared directory.
Read the answer AnswerCan ChatGPT recommend plugins automatically?
Yes, but only for plugins OpenAI selects. A developer cannot request it, and most published plugins are found by link or name.
Read the answer AnswerHow does ChatGPT decide which plugin to use?
For installed plugins, from the names and descriptions the developer wrote. For plugins not installed, OpenAI publishes no method.
Read the answer AnswerCan you optimize a ChatGPT plugin for discovery?
Partly. You can test and tune when ChatGPT calls an installed plugin. You cannot request, buy or guarantee a recommendation.
Read the answer AnswerDo plugin and MCP tool descriptions affect discovery?
For installed plugins, yes: OpenAI says tool metadata decides when a tool is called. For suggestions, nobody has shown it.
Read the answer AnswerHow do you measure ChatGPT plugin visibility?
In three layers kept apart: the directory, tool selection after install, and suggestions before install, each with repeated runs.
Read the answer AnswerDoes getting into the plugin directory guarantee traffic?
No. A published plugin is found by link or by name, and reaches the main directory pages only if OpenAI selects it.
Read the answer AnswerCan a ChatGPT plugin pay for placement?
Not as of 9 Oct 2026. OpenAI documents no paid placement, developers cannot request promotion, and plugins cannot serve ads.
Read the answer AnswerDo ChatGPT plugins work in Codex?
Yes. ChatGPT and Codex share one plugin directory, though the Codex IDE extension does not support plugins.
Read the answer AnswerWhat changed for plugins at DevDay 2026?
Plugin extensions, a new creation and submission flow, improved ranking and recommendations, MCP Events and plugins inside Sites.
Read the answerAbout this research
Can I cite this page?
Yes. Cite it as: KailxLabs, "ChatGPT plugin discovery: what is known and what we measured", 9 Oct 2026, with a link to this page. Please include the date, because the platform changes and this page will too.
Is the pilot a finding?
No. It is nine search queries and one snapshot of the directory front page, on one day, logged out. It shows the directory can be measured from outside. It does not show how directory search works, and it says nothing about suggestions inside conversations.
Why are there no numbers for suggestions?
Because we have not counted them yet. Suggestions depend on the account, so they need a logged in account kept in a clean state, and many repeated runs. We will not publish a rate before the runs exist.
Do you build plugins?
No. KailxLabs measures and researches discovery. Building a plugin, its MCP server and its submission to OpenAI is engineering work for a product team or a development studio.
Will you study other AI apps?
Later. Claude, Gemini and Microsoft Copilot each have their own directory of connected tools. We are keeping the first studies on ChatGPT so the results are narrow enough to check.
- 9 Oct 2026: hub published with what OpenAI documents, a directory pilot of nine queries and one shelf snapshot with both data files, and four planned studies.
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