ChatGPT can help you with a bewilderingly wide variety of tasks. Sometimes you want a narrower, more specialized AI assistant. OpenAI's GPT Store offers selective versions of ChatGPT to do exactly that, albeit with so many available, it can be tricky to find the right custom model to use.
The GPT Store includes a mix of polished, experimental, and just plain wacky AI tools, but I've found more than a few that are genuinely useful. Or at least fun to use. Here are a handful of my favorites. You might be surprised how much more appealing an AI assistant can be when it has its "mind" centered on a particular topic.
1. Game Time by ChatGPT
I started with a good idea straight from the source of ChatGPT, OpenAI's own Game Time. As you might imagine, it's built to explain games. I asked it about the most opaque and confusing game I've ever seen: Contract Bridge.
I soon had a comprehensive but relatively simple description walking me through more than just the basic rules. It explained the structure of the game, from the basic objectives to what a trick is and why bidding matters. It even explained things like why certain bids are “aggressive” and how to read a partner’s signals. I don't think I'd win a tournament, but I could at least pass as not entirely ignorant.
2. Sora Video Prompter by Cubble
I next decided to tackle the very hotly discussed subject of AI video. OpenAI's Sora may not be grabbing headlines like Google Veo 3, but it's still a powerful tool in its own right. I found a very popular tool from someone named Cubble called Sora Video Prompter, and it fit the bill. All I had to do was give a very basic idea for a video clip and the custom GPT would produce a prompt ideal for use with Sora, along with an image that would work as a reference for the AI video.
I typed: “I want to make a video of a winged tiger flying over a jungle,” and received as a prompt: "A majestic winged tiger soars high above a lush, emerald jungle, its powerful wings beating gracefully against the golden light of a setting sun. Wisps of cloud swirl around its striped body as it glides effortlessly through the air, casting a vast shadow over the dense canopy below. Birds scatter from treetops and leaves shimmer in the breeze stirred by its flight. The camera slowly pans alongside the tiger as it banks gently, revealing the vibrant expanse of the wild terrain beneath it."
I plugged both into Sora and got the result above. Not bad for about five seconds of typing on my part. With some refinement, my airborne feline fantasy could look very real indeed.
3. Personal Color Analysis by Lana Aljuaid
I have no instinct for fashion, only basic lessons I've memorized. Figuring out things like color coordination isn't my forte, but happily, it is what the Personal Color Analysis GPT can provide.
I uploaded a photo of myself and asked the AI for help figuring out what colors I should be wearing. It was far from the generic advice I'd half expected. The AI identified my undertone and told me I should lean into navy, forest green, and a few other hues. With follow-up questions about shoes, belts, and tie combinations for suits, I now have a veritable fashion bible for my future fancy events.
4. Whimsical Diagrams by Community Builder
I've always had a thing for a fun diagram or flowchart; there's something about all those little lines and arrows connecting concepts that makes things seem more real. There's a GPT that thinks the same way, called Whimsical Diagrams, built by an apparently anonymous “community builder.”
For no other reason than just to see what it would do, I asked the GPT to make a chart showing the place of dragons in human culture throughout history. It suggested making a mind map, and as you can see above, the map goes everywhere. Chinese, Persian, Norse, and up to the modern TV and movie dragons, all categorized by geography, cultural symbolism, time period, and more.
5. Movie and TV Recommendations by TasteRay
Streaming services are always trying to recommend shows and movies you might like based on previous watches, but their success at pinpointing my taste is iffy to say the least. So I went to try this GPT built by Michal Jaskolski (as TasteRay). An enjoyable chat about the kind of movies and TV shows I like and don't like ensued when I asked for a funny fantasy TV show. It didn’t just spit out a list. It asked me what kind of humor I liked, which fantasy movies and shows I enjoyed or disliked, and even specific actors or directors I considered must-see or must-avoid.
In the end, it had a taste profile for me and a list of shows. There were some I had seen before on there, but all were ones I truly loved, making me excited to try the ones I hadn't. It was like the opposite of the Netflix algorithm because it actually paid attention to what I indicated I liked.
GPTs for all
There are plenty of silly gimmicks in the GPT Store, but that's not the only thing you'll find there. Shaping ChatGPT for specific goals and limited expertise is a good way to find out just how much AI can do. It's not just a mysterious and unlabeled box with anything inside; it's the package you ordered. As chaotic and weird as some of the GPTs can be, you might find your favorite AI guides within, even if it will take more than one conversation to understand Bridge.
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