Overview
Summary
Greg Isenberg argues that building a ChatGPT plugin is the best risk and reward bet available right now, because it puts a tool in front of a claimed 1.2 billion weekly users while the recommendation slots are still empty.
The trigger is a product change he dates to the day before the post. ChatGPT now recommends plugins in the middle of conversations. Millions of questions are asked with no plugin to recommend. Each unanswered question is an empty slot.
He maps the moment onto earlier platform windows: Facebook apps in 2007, iPhone apps in 2008, TikTok in 2019. In each case distribution was briefly free, and most people missed it. He treats those months as scarce, not as a permanent channel.
His starting sequence is narrow. Find a workflow people already search for or do by hand each week, ship it as a plugin, write the description in the phrases people type into ChatGPT, launch five, and double down on the one that gets picked up.
The post quotes Pietro Schirano, who said to stop and build a plugin extension, and claimed growth of more than 2000 percent since the announcement. The cover chart on this page is that quoted image: a flat baseline, then a spike into 30 September 2026.
Why This Matters
Distribution, not building, is the scarce input. A plugin that the model can recommend inside an existing question skips the usual cold-start tax of ads, SEO, and an audience. That tax returns once the slots fill.
The post does not answer how the plugin gets paid. Replies ask the monetization question directly. The window claim and the revenue claim are separate. A free slot is not a business until the plugin has a price, a lead path, or a usage fee.
The useful read is timing plus selection. Ship into empty recommendation slots now, match the language people already type, and keep the portfolio small enough that one winner can be doubled down on before the category crowds in.
Key Points
- Isenberg calls a ChatGPT plugin the strongest risk and reward bet he can see, aimed at a claimed 1.2 billion weekly users.
- As of the day before the post, ChatGPT recommends plugins in the middle of conversations, not only in a separate store browse.
- Millions of daily questions have no plugin to recommend. Each one is treated as an empty slot.
- The historical frame is Facebook apps in 2007, iPhone apps in 2008, and TikTok in 2019: short periods of free distribution that most people miss.
- He treats those windows as sacred based on time spent in San Francisco building venture-backed companies, not as a permanent advantage.
- Start with a workflow people already Google or do by hand each week. Examples given: PDF to Excel, invoice generator, weekly client reports.
- Write the plugin description in the exact phrases people type into ChatGPT, so the recommendation match is literal.
- Ship five plugins, watch which ones get picked up, and double down on the one with traction.
- He expects the slots to be crowded within 12 months, and the consensus recognition to arrive in 2027.
- The quoted Schirano post says plugin growth was over 2000 percent since the announcement. The chart shows the spike at the end of September 2026.
- Replies, including from Greg Thomas and Vojin Pupavac, ask how this is monetized. The original post does not answer.
- Idea Browser replied that it would add a plugins-ideas section, treating the moment as an app-store opening.
Quotable
Lines are taken from the post and the quoted post, trimmed for length. Not a full transcript.
"I literally can't think of a better risk/reward bet right now than building a ChatGPT plugin and getting in front of their 1.2 billion weekly users."
The claim is distribution access, not product novelty.
"Millions of questions get asked every day with no plugin to recommend. Each one is an empty slot."
The unit of opportunity is an unanswered recommendation, not a listing page.
"Every big platform has a few months where distribution is free, and most people miss it."
The edge is timing. The window is described as short.
"Most people will realize ChatGPT plugins were the biggest free distribution channel of 2026 sometime in 2027."
Consensus is expected after the empty slots fill.
"Stop what you're doing and build a plugin extension for ChatGPT. We've grown over 2000% since the announcement."
The quoted evidence. The cover chart is the image attached to this post.
Concepts
The window
A short period after a platform opens a new surface, when placement is cheap because the catalog is thin. Isenberg's examples are Facebook apps, the iPhone App Store, and early TikTok.
A question the model is asked that has no plugin to recommend. The slot is the inventory. A plugin wins by being the thing that can fill it.
The claimed change is not a store people browse. Plugins are suggested inside the chat, next to the question that triggered them.
His term for the months when a platform's distribution is still unpriced. He anchors it in venture-backed company building in San Francisco, not in a model.
How a plugin gets chosen
The starting filter is demand that already exists: a job people Google, or a task they do by hand every week. PDF to Excel, invoices, and weekly client reports are the examples.
The description should use the exact phrases people type into ChatGPT. Ranking here is linguistic, not brand.
Do not bet the window on one idea. Ship five, read which ones get picked up, then concentrate on the winner.
He expects the slots to be crowded in a year. The operating assumption is that delay is the main cost.
What the source does not settle
Bookmarks and replies cluster on "how do you monetize?" The post does not specify a price, a take rate, or a lead path. Treat that as an open design choice, not as a solved claim.
The 2000 percent figure belongs to Schirano's quoted post, illustrated by the cover chart. It is not Isenberg's own plugin metric.
Idea Browser's reply names the pattern directly and says it will add a plugins-ideas section. The category is being packaged while the slots are still thin.
Implementation
Steps follow the post's sequence. Monetization was asked in replies and is not answered in the source, so the last steps are application, not a claim from the post.
Write ten workflows people already Google or do by hand every week. Use the post's filter: PDF to Excel, invoice generator, weekly client reports, and seven more from your own market. Drop anything that needs a new habit.
For each workflow, collect the sentences people actually type into ChatGPT. Those phrases become the plugin description. Do not lead with a brand name.
Ship five, not one. Each should do one job the description promises. Scope is a single output: a file, a table, a draft, or a filled form.
Write each listing with the exact phrases from step 2. If the recommendation happens inside the question, the listing is the query, not a slogan.
Track which plugins get recommended and used. Ignore likes on the announcement. The post's signal is "which ones get picked up."
Stop spreading effort once one plugin shows pickup. Deepen that workflow: more of the hand-work, cleaner output, tighter phrase coverage.
The source leaves this open. Choose one before the slots fill: a paid action inside the plugin, a lead into a service you already sell, or a usage fee on the output. Do not assume recommendation equals revenue.
Treat 12 months as the outside date he gives for crowded slots. Review at 30 and 90 days. If pickup is flat, kill the plugin and move the phrase list to the next workflow.
Tools & Resources
These resources are curated in two groups. Mentioned Resources are pulled directly from the source material, and Suggested Resources are added to help you expand and apply the ideas beyond the original.
The following resources may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you. This does not influence the placement of links on this page.
Mentioned Resources
| Resource | Description |
|---|---|
| ChatGPT | The platform. The post's claim is that plugins are now recommended inside conversations, against a stated 1.2 billion weekly users. |
| Greg Isenberg post | Source post. Five-step shipping sequence and the free-distribution-window frame. |
| Pietro Schirano post | Quoted post. Growth claim of over 2000 percent since the announcement, with the chart used as this page's cover. |
| Idea Browser | Reply from the Idea Browser account saying a plugins-ideas section would be added. |
Suggested Resources
| Resource | Description |
|---|---|
| The Cold Start Problem (Andrew Chen) | How new networks and marketplaces get the first distribution before the catalog is crowded. |
| Platform Revolution | Platform openings, side switching, and why a thin catalog is a temporary advantage. |
| Crossing the Chasm | Why a narrow workflow beats a broad tool when a category is still forming. |
| Hooked (Nir Eyal) | Trigger, action, reward. Useful once a plugin is being recommended inside a repeated question. |
| $100M Leads (Alex Hormozi) | Lead-path options for the monetization question the source leaves open. |
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