Custom GPTs: How to Build Your Own AI Assistant
On November 6, 2023, OpenAI announced Custom GPTs—letting anyone create specialized AI assistants without coding. The GPT Store would follow.
On November 6, 2023, at OpenAI's first DevDay, CEO Sam Altman announced Custom GPTs—a feature that would let anyone create their own specialized version of ChatGPT.
No coding required. Just conversation.
It was OpenAI's bet on user-generated AI becoming the next platform economy.
What Custom GPTs Were
Custom GPTs let you create AI assistants tailored for specific purposes:
How to create one:
- Tell ChatGPT what kind of assistant you want
- Give it instructions, knowledge, and capabilities
- Test and refine through conversation
- Share with others or keep private
That's it. No programming, no technical knowledge needed.
What You Could Customize
Instructions: How the GPT should behave and respond Knowledge: Upload files for the GPT to reference Capabilities: Enable web browsing, DALL-E 3, or code interpreter Actions: Connect to external APIs (advanced feature)
This made specialized AI accessible to non-technical users.
The Use Cases
People immediately started creating GPTs for every imaginable purpose:
Education: Math tutor, language practice, study guide generator Professional: Legal document reviewer, marketing copywriter, data analyst Creative: Story writer, game master, character creator Productivity: Meeting summarizer, email drafter, project planner Entertainment: Trivia host, recipe generator, travel planner
Millions of Custom GPTs were created in the first weeks.
The GPT Store Announcement
Along with Custom GPTs, OpenAI announced the GPT Store—a marketplace where creators could share and eventually monetize their GPTs.
The vision: Like the App Store for AI. Discover GPTs, install them, use them seamlessly within ChatGPT.
Revenue sharing: Creators would earn based on usage (details to come).
This positioned OpenAI as a platform, not just a product.
Where Are They Now?
The GPT Store launched in January 2024. Millions of Custom GPTs now exist, though most usage still goes to ChatGPT itself rather than custom variants.
Revenue sharing for creators rolled out gradually, creating a new creator economy around AI assistants.
November 6, 2023 was the day OpenAI transformed from AI provider to AI platform—letting users build the next generation of AI applications.