How to Get Your Business Inside ChatGPT With a Plugin

An MCP (Model Context Protocol) server is the piece that exposes a closed set of a company’s actions to the assistant, such as «search products» or «check order status». ChatGPT decides when to use each action from its name and description, and the plugin can also show its own window inside the chat, such as a map or a product comparison.

An example: a chain of sports shops publishes its plugin. Someone types «find trail running shoes in my size at shop X» into ChatGPT, and the plugin queries the chain’s real catalogue, with its stock and prices, instead of ChatGPT answering from whatever it has read on the web.

The name changed in 2026: what OpenAI called ChatGPT apps are now ChatGPT plugins. Its Apps SDK documentation redirects to the plugin documentation, and its changelog entry of 25 March 2026 says approved Apps SDK integrations could be distributed as plugins for Codex, OpenAI’s coding assistant. Today ChatGPT and Codex share a single plugin directory.

The two are not mutually exclusive. A company that already appears in answers can add a plugin so people who discover it there can use it without leaving the chat; the reverse does not work the same way, because the plugin does not make ChatGPT recommend the company. The second route is covered in the guide to appearing in ChatGPT.

The OpenAI requirements worth checking before you commission the build:

• Verified identity: OpenAI rejects plugins published under an individual or business name that has not passed its verification.
• Public server: the MCP server must sit on a public HTTPS domain, not a local or testing endpoint, and each plugin connects only one MCP server.
• Data residency: OpenAI projects with EU data residency cannot yet submit plugins with an MCP server; you need a project with global data residency.
• A published privacy policy covering what personal data is collected, why, who receives it and how long it is kept.
• A test account with sample data that works without SMS codes, email codes or two-factor approval.

The data residency point affects many European companies. If the company’s OpenAI account was set up with its data in Europe, the technical team has to open another project before submitting the plugin.

The OpenAI rules that matter most to a business, according to its plugin guidelines read on 11/11/2026:

• General audience: the plugin must be suitable for people aged 13 to 17 and may not target children under 13.
• Commerce: only physical goods can be sold. Subscriptions, digital content and credits cannot be sold, and the plugin cannot display pricing plans.
• Payment: purchases are completed on the company’s own site. In-ChatGPT payment, Instant Checkout, is in beta and limited to select marketplaces.
• Advertising: the plugin cannot serve ads.
• Fair play: descriptions cannot tell ChatGPT to prefer one plugin over others or disparage alternatives.
• Same service: the plugin cannot offer a worse version than the website or charge more for being used through ChatGPT.

The commerce rule rules out many software and digital service companies from selling inside the plugin, although their customers can still sign in with an existing paid account. Whether paying for visibility instead is an option is covered in how ads in ChatGPT work.

OpenAI says plugins with strong real-world utility and high satisfaction may be eligible for enhanced distribution, such as directory placement or proactive suggestions, and warns that «few plugins will receive enhanced distribution at publication». For most companies, then, the people who find the plugin are the ones who already know the brand and search for it.

The plugin directory is shared by ChatGPT and Codex, and ChatGPT plugins work on the web, in the desktop app and on mobile. During review the company defines the countries where it will be available; OpenAI asks developers to submit only if they want it to be public in those countries.

Once a plugin is installed, the person using ChatGPT decides when it asks for permission: always, before making changes or only before important changes. OpenAI added that control on 12 June 2026, according to its changelog.

GEO is the work of getting AI assistants to cite and recommend a brand, and how GEO differs from SEO has its own article. HeyTalent, a sourcing tool for recruiters, gets between 2 and 3 demos a week from people who arrived by asking ChatGPT, according to HeyTalent’s data.

Kulturo, a tech recruitment agency in Barcelona, receives around 7 qualified form submissions a month from people who say they found it by asking ChatGPT or Claude, according to Kulturo’s data (October 2026). HeyTalent’s full figures are in the HeyTalent case study with DoGeo.

Three questions to answer before commissioning the build:

1. What specific action would a customer take from ChatGPT that they take today on your website or in your own app? If there is none, the plugin will not pass review.
2. Do you sell physical goods, or a service people use through an existing account? Subscriptions and digital products cannot be sold from a plugin.
3. Does ChatGPT already name you when someone asks about your sector? If not, only people who already know you will find the plugin.

For most service businesses the sensible order is the reverse: first make sure ChatGPT can read the site and names the company, then consider a plugin. The first step is to check whether AI crawlers can read your site.