The Custom AI You Built in ChatGPT Shuts Down December 11 — 3 Things to Do Right Now
OpenAI announced on September 11, 2026: Custom GPTs — the personalized AI assistants you built in ChatGPT — will stop working for everyone on December 11. If you're affected, start saving your data and preparing to migrate now. Here's a plain-English explanation of what's changing and what you need to do.
Have you ever built a "personal assistant" inside ChatGPT?
An AI specialized for legal questions. An AI that knows your company's product catalog inside and out. An AI that summarizes the news for you every morning. ChatGPT had a feature called "Custom GPT" that let you create your very own personalized AI.
That feature is shutting down on December 11, 2026. OpenAI announced it on September 11. If you've been using it, you need to take action now.
What Is This?
A "Custom GPT" is a personalized AI built by adding your own custom settings to ChatGPT.
Here are some examples of how people used them:
- "An internal AI that has memorized all of our company's rules"
- "An AI that answers in plain language so staff who struggle with technical terms can use it easily"
- "A dedicated AI for routine tasks so you don't have to type the same instructions over and over"
Custom GPTs launched in November 2023, and more than 3 million were created worldwide. Their popularity came from how easy they were to build — just hand over a set of instructions and some reference files, and anyone could make one.
What Has Changed?
On September 11, 2026, OpenAI announced it would retire Custom GPTs and migrate to a newer system.
Here are the key dates:
| Date | What Happens |
|---|---|
| September 11, 2026 | Official retirement announcement |
| September 22, 2026 | Migration tool becomes available (Enterprise plan first) |
| December 11, 2026 | Custom GPTs stop working across all plans |
After December 11, neither Custom GPTs you built yourself nor those published by others will be accessible at all.
After December 11, trying to access a Custom GPT you've been relying on will show a "Not available" message. If you haven't saved the contents beforehand, all of the instructions and reference files you configured will be permanently lost.
Why Is This Happening?
As a successor to Custom GPTs, OpenAI is introducing a new system called "Plugins." Plugins offer stronger integration with external services compared to Custom GPTs, and they let you bundle instructions, reference files, and external tools together in one place. OpenAI has described the change as an effort to "evolve into a more flexible and powerful system."
However, Custom GPTs cannot be automatically converted to Plugins. Manual migration work will be required.
3 Things to Do Right Now
Thinking "I still have plenty of time, I'll deal with it later" — until December 11 arrives and all your carefully crafted instructions and settings are permanently gone.
Take these three steps now, and you'll be able to carry your work forward and migrate to Plugins smoothly without losing anything.
Step 1: Make a List of the Custom GPTs You've Been Using
Open ChatGPT and check the left sidebar or "Explore GPTs" to find the Custom GPTs you've created or used. Noting down "who made it" and "what situations you used it for" will make the migration process smoother.
Step 2: Save All Instructions and Files
Open the "Edit settings" screen for each Custom GPT and copy the following to save locally:
- System prompt (instructions): What role did you give this AI?
- Knowledge files: Any PDFs or text documents you uploaded as reference material
- Common prompt examples: The patterns you used most often
"Custom Actions" that connected your GPT to external web services or company systems will not carry over to Plugins automatically. If you had external integrations set up, you will need to reconfigure them from scratch on the Plugin side.
Step 3: Use the Migration Tool to Convert to a Plugin
For Enterprise plan users, the migration tool will be available from September 22. Individual plan users (Free, Plus, Pro) can expect a similar migration process to be rolled out in stages.
Once the migration tool is available:
- Go to "My GPTs" in ChatGPT and select the GPT you want to migrate
- Click "Migrate to Plugin"
- Verify that your instructions and files have been carried over
- Reconfigure any Custom Actions (external integrations)
After migrating, your original Custom GPT will remain read-only until December 11. There's no need to rush through the migration, but the sooner you act, the better.
Who Is Affected?
- ✓Affected if you used Custom GPTs published by others
- ✓Cannot create your own Custom GPTs, so no loss of personal settings
- ✓GPTs you've been using will stop working after December
- ✓Most impacted, since you could build your own Custom GPTs
- ✓Save your instructions now
- ✓Need to convert to Plugins using the migration tool
- ✓Migration tool available from September 22
- ✓Detailed instructions have been sent to administrators
- ✓Review your organization's GPT list and migrate with a plan
Not sure whether you've been using Custom GPTs? Open ChatGPT, go to the left menu "Explore GPTs" → "My GPTs." If nothing appears, you haven't built any yourself and there's nothing you need to save.
Summary
ChatGPT's personalized AI feature, Custom GPTs, will stop working entirely on December 11, 2026.
Here are the 3 steps to take now:
- Check the list of Custom GPTs you've been using
- Save your instructions and reference files to your computer
- When the migration tool is available, convert them to Plugins
The successor "Plugins" system is more feature-rich, so once migration is complete, you'll be able to keep using AI assistance — better than before. Start by confirming today: what Custom GPTs have you actually been using?
OpenAI's Official FAQ on Custom GPT Retirement and Migration (English)
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See also the complete ChatGPT beginner's guide and OpenAI model retirement timeline.
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