ChatGPT · Custom GPTs · Deadline Dec 11, 2026
Custom GPT Retirement: What to Do Before Dec 11
The GPT you spent a weekend building has an end date — and the replacement isn’t a straight copy
What OpenAI’s own help page says moves over, what quietly doesn’t, and the order to fix things in.
You know the feeling. You built a custom GPT that finally answers the way you want — your tone, your files, your rules — and you’ve been using it every week. Then a notice says it’s going away. Not “changing.” Going away.
That’s what OpenAI announced for custom GPTs, and the date is real: December 11, 2026. Here’s what you actually need to do, based on OpenAI’s own custom GPT retirement and migration FAQ — including the parts that don’t carry over.
The short version
OpenAI is retiring custom GPTs on December 11, 2026, on every ChatGPT plan. Until then your GPT keeps working. In My GPTs, a Migrate to plugin button copies your instructions, knowledge files and connected apps into a plugin. Custom actions, model choice and sharing settings don’t carry over, so you rebuild those by hand.
Is ChatGPT really retiring custom GPTs?
Yes. According to OpenAI’s help center, all ChatGPT plans are affected, and the standard retirement date is December 11, 2026. Enterprise workspaces that get an approved deferral have until February 11, 2027.
The replacement is plugins. A plugin bundles instructions (called skills), reference files and connected apps in one package — closer to a small toolkit than the single chat persona a custom GPT was.
What actually moves to a plugin
When you press Migrate to plugin on a GPT in your My GPTs section, three things come across: your instructions (they become a skill inside the plugin), your knowledge files (copied in as reference files), and any connected apps (added as plugin apps).
Your original GPT stays usable until the retirement date, and your old conversations with it remain accessible afterward. That’s the good news — you can run both side by side while you test.
The honest limitations
This is the part the headlines skip. A migrated plugin is not your GPT with a new name.
1. Custom actions don’t transfer
If your GPT calls an outside service through an action — a CRM lookup, a spreadsheet, your own API — that connection has to be rebuilt in the plugin. OpenAI’s FAQ says so directly. For anyone who built a GPT around an action, this is the real work.
2. Sharing settings reset
“Anyone with the link” doesn’t come along. One hands-on test reported that migrated plugins start out private, and public use needs a separate submission step. If you sent your GPT to clients, a team or your audience, they’ll need a new route to the plugin.
⚠️ The catch
Any link to your old GPT — in a course, a bio, a newsletter or a website — stops working when the GPT is retired. Migrating doesn’t carry the old link across. Make a list of where you posted it now.
3. The model choice resets
The model your GPT used doesn’t carry over, per the FAQ. If you picked a particular model for a reason, check what the plugin runs on and choose again.
4. It may answer differently
OpenAI itself warns that a migrated plugin may respond differently from the GPT. In one hands-on write-up, the author also noted that a plugin’s skill isn’t guaranteed to trigger on every request, and that knowledge files accepted by a GPT can be rejected during migration because of size limits. Test with the same five questions you always ask.
5. What I couldn’t confirm
OpenAI’s page doesn’t spell out whether free-plan accounts can create plugins, and I couldn’t find anything on what happens to GPT Store earnings. I also haven’t seen the migration button on my own account, so check My GPTs and see whether it’s there for you. If a source tells you otherwise on any of these, trust OpenAI’s current help page over this one.
How to migrate a custom GPT to a plugin
Do this in order.
1. Save a backup first. Copy your GPT’s instructions into a document and download your knowledge files. If anything goes wrong, you can rebuild — in ChatGPT or anywhere else.
2. List what depends on it. Actions, shared links, people who use it, places you’ve posted the link.
3. Open My GPTs and press Migrate to plugin. Your original stays in place, read-only.
4. Test the plugin against the GPT with the same prompts. Compare, edit the skill’s wording, repeat.
5. Rebuild actions and sharing. Then send the new route to the people who used the old link.
6. Do it before Dec 11 — leave a week of margin, because the testing is where the surprises show up.
💡 You’re not locked in
Your instructions are plain text, so they work as a starting point elsewhere. If you’re weighing a switch, our guide to moving your ChatGPT memory to Claude shows how portable this stuff is, and a reusable assistant built in Claude Projects is the closest cousin to a custom GPT on the other side.
Who should actually care
Act now if: you built a GPT you use for work, sell access to, or share with clients or a team — especially one that uses actions.
Plan, don’t panic, if: you have a few personal GPTs made of instructions and a file or two. The migration should cover most of that.
You can skip it if: you only use GPTs other people made. OpenAI says no action is needed from you — but check whether the creator is moving to a plugin, and see how free ChatGPT’s limits apply to what you use.
Frequently asked questions
Can I still use my custom GPT after December 11?
No. December 11, 2026 is the standard retirement date for all plans. Your past conversations stay accessible, but the GPT itself is retired.
Will I lose my old chats with the GPT?
OpenAI says existing conversations with custom GPTs remain accessible after retirement. They don’t move into the plugin, though.
Does the plugin work exactly like my GPT?
Not necessarily. OpenAI says a migrated plugin may behave differently, so compare its answers to your GPT’s before you switch.
Do I need to do anything if I only use other people’s GPTs?
No action is required from you. Look for the creator’s guidance on a replacement, since public sharing settings don’t carry over automatically.
The bottom line
December 11 is a hard date, and the migration is a copy of the easy parts, not the whole GPT. The risk isn’t losing the GPT — it’s losing the links, actions and sharing around it without noticing until someone asks why it stopped working.
Do this today: open My GPTs, copy each GPT’s instructions into a document, and write down every place you posted its link. Ten minutes, and you’re covered whatever you decide next.
