I regularly find myself perusing through ChatGPT’s nearly endless bank of plugins.
While the ones centered on helping users with their business operations, scientific research and security needs don’t really cater to my use cases, there are plugins from the other categories that do so much for me. More specifically, the plugins that connect right to my favorite apps that are geared toward entertainment, travel and shopping.
Seeing as I use many of the same apps that ChatGPT offers everyone as plugins daily, I knew it was time for me to connect my favorite ones to the AI tool I use just as much. Once I made those connections, I ended up shaving off some much-needed time for everything from building my day around the current weather trends to finding the best events and tickets to buy.
The following five ChatGPT plugins went hand in hand with five of my most used apps and ended up saving me a bunch of time on a number of different activities.
1. AccuWeather
My iPhone’s default Weather app is fine — I usually pull it up for a quick reminder of whether it’s going to rain or not before I step outside my front door.
But the AccuWeather app takes precedence over that one since it offers more accurate minute-by-minute forecasts, lays out the details I need to know to get ready for allergy season, gives me air quality forecasts, etc. AccuWeather’s ChatGPT plugin is pretty great whenever I ask it to give me an overview of the day’s weather so I can decide whether or not I should proceed with my plans.
Prompting the AccuWeather plugin to let me know if it’s worth stashing a sweater in my backpack before I head out for a few hours is the way to go for me now.
An example of a prompt I use: @AccuWeather Look at today's and tomorrow's forecast for my location and turn it into a practical plan for my day.
Tell me:
The best window for outdoor exercise
The best window for errands
When weather could interfere with outdoor plans
What clothing or gear I should consider
Whether I should change any outdoor plans because of the forecast
Don't just repeat the forecast. Translate it into decisions I can actually make.
2. Spotify
I come from the generation where it was pretty easy to get exposed to new music simply by listening to the radio, since stations used to play a larger variety of artists compared to today.
These days, I ask my friends for artist recommendations, scroll through the new releases that drop at midnight every Friday on the iTunes Store and listen to random music recommendations YouTube sends my way. Since my Spotify account is linked to the ChatGPT plugin, I save myself the trouble of desperately searching for music and artists I’ve never heard of just by prompting it to look through my faves and find similar tunes & musicians I might enjoy.
An example of a prompt I use: @Spotify Analyze my listening history and identify patterns in the music I consistently enjoy.
Then recommend 15 songs I probably haven't heard before.
For each recommendation, explain:
What about my listening history led you to it
The specific artist/song I already like that it connects to
What makes it different from what I normally listen to
Avoid obvious recommendations and songs that are already extremely similar to my favorites. I want discoveries that feel surprising but still make sense for my taste.
3. Podcast App
The Apple Podcasts app is decent enough, but I’ve gotten more mileage out of the Podcast App since it allows me to create episode playlists categorized by whatever topic I’m interested in or the guest speaker.
That one feature has made me gravitate towards the Podcast App and thankfully, most of my go-to podcasts are available on its platform. ChatGPT has a plugin for the Podcast App that I use as my podcast curator which brings up the sort of recommendations that have been added to my expanding playlist of audio entertainment.
And so far, the Podcast App plugin has exposed me to a wide range of podcasts. In fact, it has completely replaced my manual searches and how much time I used to spend looking for them.
Examples of the prompts I use: @PodcastApp Look at the podcasts I listen to and recommend five shows I haven't discovered yet.
@PodcastApp Find me a podcast that can help me understand [complex topic] without feeling like I'm studying.
@PodcastApp Find me something funny to listen to when I need to get out of a bad mood.
@PodcastApp Find me a podcast that will make a boring household chore more enjoyable.
@PodcastApp Find me a podcast episode that's perfect for an hour-long commute.
4. Etsy
I’ve been accused of not being the most thoughtful gift-giver. Once I hit a wall and can’t think of anything clever to get for someone for their birthday or during the holidays, I’ll quickly revert to getting them a generic gift card and calling it a day.
At some point, I realized my go-to move of giving out gift cards wouldn’t cut it anymore and I started reverting to Etsy to find more appropriate presents for my friends & family. Since Etsy takes up prime app real estate on my phone and also plays its part as a great curator for unique items worth buying, it’s saved me a ton of time by keeping me from endlessly searching for clever gift ideas.
Examples of the prompts I use: @Etsy Find me 10 genuinely unusual gifts under $50 for someone impossible to shop for.
@Etsy I need a last-minute birthday gift for someone who loves [hobby]. Find options that feel thoughtful rather than generic.
@Etsy Find me something on Etsy that would make my apartment feel more [cozy/minimalist/fall-themed/etc.] without spending more than $75.
@Etsy Find me Etsy products that would make my desk setup more interesting without making it look cluttered.
@Etsy I have $100 to spend on myself. Find me five things on Etsy I'd probably love based on these interests: [interests].
5. Ticketmaster
Attending concerts, wrestling shows, Broadway shows and other live events is something I do on the regular.
And even though Ticketmaster’s prices can be a bit too pricey at times, I go to it more often than not when it’s time to find decent seats for my next event. The Ticketmaster app practically lives on my phone and won’t be going anywhere, so I’ve gotten used to using its ChatGPT plugin just as much. That's why I've started prompting the Ticketmaster plugin to find events that appeal to my interests.
Likewise, I also use it to discover new events I wouldn’t have known about otherwise. Saving myself a few minutes by asking the Ticketmaster plugin to find events and the best tickets for them has become a common practice for me now.
Examples of the prompts I use: @Ticketmaster Find me the most interesting events happening this weekend that I probably wouldn't discover through a normal Ticketmaster search.
@Ticketmaster Find me an event that matches the kind of music I listen to, but don't recommend artists I already know.
@Ticketmaster When are the next New York Knicks games?
@Ticketmaster Find me tickets for professional wrestling events happening on the East Coast.
@Ticketmaster Find me a concert under $75 that would make a great Friday night.
The takeaway
Combining my favorite apps and their ChatGPT plugins has resulted in me having an easier time building my day around the current forecast, discovering new music, getting exposed to new podcasts, simplifying my search for gifts and finding the best events near me with great seats.
Performing all those tasks with ChatGPT’s assistance has dramatically lowered the time I used to be spent handling all of that busywork on my own. I’m still a bit iffy about connecting my Google Workspace accounts, but I’m pretty comfortable with combining the work that my favorite apps and their ChatGPT plugins do.
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