On the 23rd of March, OpenAI announced the alpha release of Plugins behind a very selective waitlist. Since then, the community has been abuzz with who got access and when. And for most that did, it was an unpleasant surprise when instead of being able to give ChatGPT web-browsing powers, or the ability to run code, they just got access to connect to OpenTable and Expedia.
Developers and competitors rushed to build their own tools to achieve the same results outside OpenAI’s ecosystem. Agents [1] were one of the primary creations out of this need, and so thousands have since been running a model with access to the internet, or have built more complex cognitive architectures with access to dozens of tools [2]. Agents are a deep and interesting topic on their own, so we will leave them for another time.
Granting such wide access to plugins for ChatGPT is set to redefine the paradigm of how users interact with and what we expect of AI. The first plugins were mere tools for the AI Model, we are now giving it The Internet.
Exploring the World of ChatGPT Plugins
ChatGPT Plugins are akin to an AppStore for your AI assistant [3]. They empower ChatGPT, extending its capabilities beyond just being a conversational AI, and turning it into a powerful multi-functional tool. With plugins, ChatGPT can now search the internet, interact with web platforms, and execute tasks, making it a potent productivity asset.
From parsing PDFs and analyzing investments to generating images and more, developers have crafted a myriad of plugins that extend its functionality. Today, we will delve into the most resourceful 3rd party ChatGPT plugins that can greatly enhance your AI assistant experience.
To illustrate, what better than to start with the stomach?
Consider a task like calculating the nutritional value of a meal. Prior to plugins, ChatGPT would have struggled to provide accurate results. Now, using plugins like Wolfram Alpha and Instacart, it can obtain precise data and offload complex computations, resulting in far more reliable outcomes.
A request like this would’ve been doable for normal ChatGPT, but the long calculations of nutritional value would’ve made it hallucinate, and 100% of the time it would have failed in providing accurate results. Now, with plugins, it can get accurate data, and offload the mathematics to a wiser partner. Let’s see the final result:
It did much better than its stand-alone predecessor. The conversation in between involved more than 30 calls to Wolfram Alpha, as it tried to get the values of the dishes, and when it failed it defaulted to adding up the values of the individual components! Great problem-solving by ChatGPT, but it couldn’t have been done without Wolfram.
Now let’s take a look at this and more of the best plugins in more detail!
1) Wolfram Alpha: Dynamic Computation and Curated Data at Your Fingertips! If you didn’t know WA before, you have missed something.
This company helped me visualize the most complex mathematical ideas in college. Their plugin enables access to powerful computational abilities as well as curated data. It provides answers to questions on diverse topics like chemistry, mathematics, geography, and astronomy. Moreover, it allows you to run complex calculations, solve equations, perform unit and date conversions, and even generate dynamic visualizations. Whether you’re looking for quick calculations, complex problem solutions, or simple factual lookups, the Wolfram plugin is a robust addition to your ChatGPT toolkit.
