##
ChatGPT is changing how reusable AI tools work. Custom GPTs have given businesses a way to create tailored versions of ChatGPT for specific jobs, but the direction is shifting towards Skills, Apps and Plugins.
If you already use Custom GPTs, the terminology can make this sound more complicated than it is.
The basic idea remains familiar: teach ChatGPT how you want a task completed, give it access to the right information and software, then reuse that setup instead of starting from scratch every time.
Here is what Skills, Apps and Plugins mean and how they could apply to an electrical business.
What are ChatGPT Skills?
A Skill teaches ChatGPT how to complete a particular task.
Think of a Skill as a reusable set of instructions, examples and reference material. Instead of explaining how you want something done every time you start a conversation, the Skill provides that knowledge.
An electrician could create Skills that:
- Write quotations in a consistent style
- Turn rough site notes into professional customer emails
- Review business processes and identify problems
- Create social media posts using a defined tone of voice
- Produce reports using the same structure each time
- Turn technical information into customer-friendly explanations
This is one of the closest concepts to how many businesses currently use Custom GPTs.
The useful part isn't having AI write something once. It is getting ChatGPT to follow the same process consistently across repetitive jobs.
What are ChatGPT Apps?
Apps connect ChatGPT to external software and information.
A Skill might teach ChatGPT how you want a job completed. An App can give it access to the software or information needed to complete that job, subject to the permissions you grant.
That could include services such as Google Drive, Gmail and other business systems.
For an electrical business, this matters because useful automation often requires more than generating text.
For example, drafting a review request is useful. Being able to access relevant job information and prepare the email inside the software you already use can remove more admin.
The distinction is simple:
Skills provide knowledge and instructions. Apps provide connections.
What are ChatGPT Plugins?
A Plugin can package Skills, connected Apps and workflow instructions together.
This is where the pieces become more useful for a business.
Instead of creating separate instructions for every stage of a repetitive process, a Plugin can bring the components together into a workflow.
For example, an electrician could use a Plugin designed to:
- Find completed jobs.
- Extract the relevant customer information.
- Draft a personalised review request using a defined tone.
- Prepare the message for approval.
- Put it into Gmail ready to send.
The Skill controls how the message should be written. The connected App provides access to the relevant system. The Plugin packages the process together.
What happens to Custom GPTs?
If you have built Custom GPTs, they will still work as normal for now. Open are discontinuing them early December
Look at the instructions, reference documents, examples and processes inside each GPT. Those assets contain the valuable part: your business knowledge.
Start identifying what each Custom GPT actually does.
If one GPT handles quotations, another writes emails and another creates social posts, you already have the foundations for several reusable Skills.
What should electricians do with ChatGPT Skills and Plugins?
Don't start by trying to automate your entire electrical business.
Pick one repetitive task that consumes time every week.
Write down the steps you currently follow, the information required, what a good result looks like and the mistakes ChatGPT needs to avoid. That gives you the foundations of a useful Skill.
Once that works consistently, look at which Apps or Plugins could connect that process to the software you already use.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a ChatGPT Skill?
A ChatGPT Skill is a reusable set of instructions and supporting information that teaches ChatGPT how to perform a specific task or workflow.
What is the difference between a ChatGPT Skill and an App?
A Skill tells ChatGPT how to perform a task. An App connects ChatGPT to external software, services or information, subject to the permissions you provide.
What is a ChatGPT Plugin?
A Plugin can combine Skills, connected Apps and instructions into a reusable workflow. This allows ChatGPT to work with both business processes and external software.
Are Skills the same as Custom GPTs?
They are not identical, but there is significant overlap in their purpose. Both can give ChatGPT reusable instructions, knowledge and processes for specific tasks.
How could electricians use ChatGPT Skills?
Electricians could create Skills for quotations, customer emails, job reports, social media content, process reviews and other repetitive administrative tasks. Start with a task you already repeat frequently and document how you want ChatGPT to handle it.