The best ChatGPT plugins for everyday work and life (October 2026)

For everyday work, the most useful ChatGPT plugins are Gmail, Google Calendar, Notion and Adobe Acrobat for email, scheduling, notes and PDFs, and Canva for quick design. Outside work, Expedia and Booking.com cover trips, OpenTable and Instacart cover food, Spotify handles music, Zillow helps with home searches and Coursera with learning. Each one installs from the Plugins tab in ChatGPT, connects your account if needed, and then works from a normal chat message.

Here is what each one does well, and where its limits are.

How to use these#

1. Open the Plugins tab in ChatGPT on the web, desktop or mobile, search for the name, and select the plus button.
2. Connect your account when asked. Some plugins ask at install, others the first time you use them.
3. In a new chat, ask for what you want ("find a free hour with Sam next week"), or type @ and pick the plugin to call it directly.

Full walkthrough: How to install plugins in ChatGPT. Availability depends on your plan, region and, for work accounts, your admin's settings, so a plugin listed here may not appear for everyone.

The list at a glance#

Work#

1. Gmail#

OpenAI's Gmail plugin summarizes your inbox, drafts replies and helps process threads. Good prompts: "Summarize unread threads from today" or "Draft a polite, firm reply to the latest email from finance." ChatGPT prepares drafts; review anything before it is sent.

2. Google Calendar#

Also built by OpenAI, the Google Calendar plugin checks availability, briefs you on upcoming meetings and can create, update or delete events. Try "Find a free 30-minute slot with Sam next week" or "Build a realistic plan for tomorrow around my meetings." Pair it with Gmail for scheduling that starts in an email thread.

3. Notion#

Notion's app searches and references your pages and can create docs, tasks and databases. Ask "Find the latest decision on pricing for this project, with page links," or have it set up a roadmap database. The Notion plugin adds skills for meeting prep, research documentation and turning specs into tasks, if you want ChatGPT to follow a consistent process.

4. Adobe Acrobat#

Adobe Acrobat for ChatGPT edits, reorders, rotates, splits and merges PDF pages, converts PDFs to other formats, redacts sensitive details, runs OCR on scans and compresses files. "Combine these reports into one PDF" and "Redact the account numbers in this statement" are typical uses. Check redactions in the final file before you share it.

5. Canva#

Canva turns a brief, outline or notes into presentations, docs, posters, social posts and resumes, and can resize designs for different platforms or give design feedback. At DevDay 2026, Canva was one of the first plugins to use OpenAI's new sidebar extensions (what that means). If you prefer Adobe's tools, Adobe Express covers similar templates.

Travel#

6. Expedia#

Expedia searches flights and hotels in plain language and shows real-time prices, availability and photos in the chat. You can compare options, see hotels on a map and link your Expedia account for member deals, then finish booking on Expedia. Expedia was a launch partner for both the original 2023 plugins and the 2025 apps (history).

7. Booking.com#

Booking.com's app explores hotels, homes, rental cars and attractions. Results link out to Booking.com to complete the booking. It is handy for "car rental in Amsterdam Oost" or "things to do near my hotel." For flight-only comparisons, Skyscanner searches across airlines and travel providers.

Food and errands#

8. OpenTable#

OpenTable's app finds restaurant availability from inside ChatGPT: "What's available near me tonight for four?" or "Italian place Saturday at 7pm." In Europe, TheFork does the same job.

9. Instacart#

Instacart's app goes from meal ideas to a grocery cart: "Plan three weeknight dinners and add the ingredients to my cart." It launched in December 2025 as the first app with Instant Checkout in ChatGPT; checkout details may have changed since, so check the final step in the app. DoorDash offers a similar recipe-to-cart flow.

Music, home and learning#

10. Spotify#

Spotify's app finds songs, artists, playlists, podcasts and audiobooks and opens them in Spotify. Premium listeners can describe a mood and get a matching playlist, and recommendations can draw on your listening history. Prefer Apple's service? Apple Music builds playlists too.

11. Zillow#

Zillow shows homes for sale with photos, maps, prices and broker details in the conversation, from questions like "3-bedroom homes under $600k in Denver with a big backyard." It was the first real estate app in ChatGPT and launched for logged-in U.S. users. Redfin is an alternative.

12. Coursera#

Coursera Learning finds courses, videos and guided projects, explains concepts in interactive sessions and lets you practise skills: "Find a beginner course on data analysis," then "Quiz me on what I just learned." For flashcards, see Quizlet.

A few habits that help#

• Name the plugin when it matters. If you have both Expedia and Booking.com installed, say which one you want, or use @.
• Keep confirmations on. Some of these can send, create, change or delete things in your accounts. Since June 2026 you can choose when connected apps ask for permission: always, before making changes, or only before important changes (OpenAI changelog). For email and calendars, "before making changes" is a sensible minimum.
• Connect only what you use. Every connection gives a third-party service some access to your data. Disconnect what you stop using. Our security checklist explains what to look at before you connect.
• Bookings usually finish on the partner's site. Several travel apps link out to complete the purchase, so the partner's terms and prices apply.

Looking for coding tools instead? See The best ChatGPT plugins for developers. Browse everything at /apps and /plugins.