Dev tracked 5,000+ ChatGPT plugins: model can only actually see a few hundred
_nixa_ · reddit · 2026-10-07
A plugin developer tracked all 5,000+ ChatGPT plugins for a week after OpenAI's directory redesign and found a severe discoverability problem:
- Asked to find 50 random plugins by exact name, ChatGPT located only one — suggesting it can truly see just a few hundred
- Ranking #1 in a category barely matters: for hotels it suggested plugins ranked #23 and #27, not top or featured ones
- The system prompt tells it to proactively suggest plugins, yet it does so only 1 in 10 times
- Tripadvisor appeared in a third of all searches regardless of topic
- Auto mode never suggests plugins, only thinking mode; free plans get none
For plugin devs, being listed and being findable are two different things — exposure hinges on an opaque retrieval mechanism.
More from coding & agent
- AI Catches Its Own UI Side-Effect via Screenshot Verification Before Opening PR — DanielLockyer · 2026-10-07
- What's Everyone Using as a Claude Code Multiplexer? Conductor Shines but Lacks Remote Control — genmon · 2026-10-07
- New Tool Launches Local Semantic Search Across Agent Sessions — No Vector DB Needed — ycombinator · 2026-10-07
- Claim: Grokbot Is Now the Best for Long-Running Computer Use with Opus 5.5 — ns123abc · 2026-10-07
- Debating LLM Egress Security: Why Every Tool Call Can Run Through Your MITM Proxy — evilsocket · 2026-10-07
- Developer slams Windsurf's dots: heavy restrictions, poor local setup, likely a push to move data to the cloud — sethlazar · 2026-10-07