ChatGPT custom GPTs are scheduled to retire (Dec 11, 2026)

Key dates

• Oct 26, 2026 (planned, affected Enterprise workspaces)

  Creation of new custom GPTs ends. OpenAI says: "Publish any drafts you need to migrate before this cutoff; public sharing is not required. This creation freeze does not prevent edits to existing, unmigrated GPTs."

  Source: OpenAI Help Center: Custom GPT retirement and migration FAQ ("Which dates should I plan around?")

• Dec 11, 2026

  Standard scheduled retirement. OpenAI says: "Custom GPTs and their GPT pages become inaccessible at the applicable retirement date. Migrate and test beforehand."

  Source: OpenAI Help Center: Custom GPT retirement and migration FAQ

• Feb 11, 2027 (only with an approved deferral)

  Retirement for affected Enterprise workspaces with a qualified, approved deferral. OpenAI says: "This extension does not apply to every workspace."

  Source: OpenAI Help Center: Custom GPT retirement and migration FAQ

OpenAI notes that "the dates are subject to change" and says to follow the notice for your own account or workspace.

Plain-English summary

OpenAI says it is "planning to retire custom GPTs and help creators migrate them to plugins." The change affects all ChatGPT plans, but migration and plugin access may differ by account or workspace, so OpenAI says to follow your in-product notice. What counts is the account or workspace where the GPT was created.

Your GPT is not gone yet. OpenAI says existing GPTs remain usable until the retirement date, and your existing conversations with custom GPTs "will remain accessible after retirement." After you migrate a GPT, the original stays usable until retirement but becomes read-only.

Under OpenAI's planned migration workflow, a GPT's instructions become a skill in the new plugin, its connected apps are added as apps, and its knowledge files are copied into the plugin's reference files. Some things do not carry over: custom actions, the GPT's selected model, its sharing settings, and drafts or unpublished edits. The new plugin starts private.

Free steps, from OpenAI's FAQ

If you created the GPT

1. List the GPTs you created and the ones your team relies on, and note which account or workspace each was created in.
2. Review each GPT's instructions, reference files and connected apps. Flag any GPT that uses custom actions: OpenAI says they "do not transfer through the migration workflow", and rebuilding the connection may need an available app or a custom MCP server.
3. Finish and publish any essential edits. OpenAI says "Migration uses the GPT's latest published version. Drafts and unpublished edits do not transfer." Publishing does not require sharing it publicly.
4. Save a few familiar prompts, plus at least one harder case, and keep the GPT's current answers so you can compare.
5. When migration is available for your account, go to My GPTs and select Migrate to plugin for the GPT, then follow the instructions to create the plugin.
6. Run the same prompts on the plugin. OpenAI suggests checking that it selects the right skill and follows your instructions, uses the expected reference material, produces complete answers or files in the required format, and has the tools and integrations the workflow needs.
7. Share the plugin with the people who need it (it starts private and migration does not give existing users access), and ask one of them to confirm they can install and use it.

If you only use someone else's GPT

OpenAI says you do not need to migrate a GPT you only use, and permission to use it does not let you migrate it yourself. Check the notice on the GPT and the creator's guidance about a replacement. Access to the original GPT does not automatically give you access to a replacement plugin.

Don't see Migrate to plugin?

OpenAI says migration may not be available to your account yet, or plugin access may be disabled. Check the notice in your account and make sure you are in the account or workspace where the GPT was created. In an Enterprise workspace, the GPT's creator or a workspace admin can migrate it when migration is available and plugins are enabled.

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FAQ

When do ChatGPT custom GPTs retire?

OpenAI's FAQ says: "Custom GPTs are scheduled to retire on Dec 11, 2026." Affected Enterprise workspaces with a qualified, approved deferral retire Feb 11, 2027. OpenAI notes that the dates are subject to change.

Is there an earlier date for Enterprise workspaces?

Yes. For affected Enterprise workspaces, creation of new custom GPTs is planned to end Oct 26, 2026. OpenAI says this creation freeze does not prevent edits to existing, unmigrated GPTs.

What happens to my custom GPT after Dec 11, 2026?

OpenAI says custom GPTs and their GPT pages become inaccessible at the applicable retirement date. Your existing conversations with custom GPTs will remain accessible after retirement.

What carries over when I migrate a GPT to a plugin?

Under OpenAI's planned migration workflow, instructions become a skill, connected apps are added as apps, and knowledge files are copied into the plugin's reference files. Custom actions, the selected model, sharing settings, and drafts or unpublished edits do not carry over.

Do I need to migrate a GPT I only use?

No. OpenAI says you do not need to migrate a GPT you only use, and permission to use it does not let you migrate it yourself. Check the creator's guidance about a replacement.

Why don't I see Migrate to plugin?

OpenAI says migration may not be available to your account yet, or plugin access may be disabled. Check the notice in your account and make sure you are in the account or workspace where the GPT was created.

Sources

OpenAI Help Center: Custom GPT retirement and migration FAQ

Checked Oct 21, 2026. OpenAI says the dates are subject to change; always follow the notice in your own account or workspace.

Copy-paste prompt for any AI agent

I use ChatGPT for my business. OpenAI's Custom GPT retirement and migration FAQ says custom GPTs are scheduled to retire on December 11, 2026, that creators can migrate a GPT to a plugin from My GPTs (Migrate to plugin), and that for affected Enterprise workspaces creation of new custom GPTs is planned to end on October 26, 2026. Please help me check where we stand:
1. Make a checklist table of every custom GPT we created or rely on (name, who created it, which account or workspace it was created in, who uses it, uses custom actions yes/no, has unpublished edits yes/no).
2. Mark the GPTs I created (I can migrate them) and the ones someone else created (I should check the creator's guidance about a replacement).
3. For each GPT I created, list 5 familiar prompts and 1 harder case I should save now, so I can compare the plugin's answers after migrating.
4. Flag every GPT that uses custom actions, because OpenAI says they do not transfer through the migration workflow.
5. Remind me to read OpenAI's own FAQ and the notice in my account for the current dates.
6. Set up reminders for November 11 and December 1, 2026. (These reminder dates are my choice, not OpenAI's.)
Do not change, migrate, publish or delete anything. Do not ask me for passwords and do not log in to any account. Only list what I should check and I will decide.
When you state any deadline or date, quote the exact line from OpenAI's own Help Center pages that states it. If you cannot find that line, say "no deadline line found" instead of guessing.

Not advice

General guidance, not legal, tax or IT advice. Check OpenAI's own FAQ and the notice in your account or workspace for your case. No promise is made that any GPT will migrate successfully or behave the same after migration. OpenAI, ChatGPT and GPTs are trademarks of OpenAI, named only to describe what this page covers. First Mover Projects is independent and is not affiliated with, endorsed or sponsored by OpenAI.