ChatGPT connectors link ChatGPT to outside apps and data sources. Custom connectors let you add your own remote MCP server so ChatGPT can call its tools.
Kinds of connectors
OpenAI offers built-in connectors for common services such as file storage, email, and calendars, which ChatGPT uses for search and research. It also supports custom connectors, which point at a remote MCP server you provide.
Availability depends on your ChatGPT plan and on workspace settings; in some plans, custom connectors with write actions require developer mode or admin approval. Check OpenAI's help center for current details, since this area changes often.
What a custom connector needs
- A server reachable over the internet using streamable HTTP. ChatGPT cannot launch local stdio servers.
- Authentication, commonly OAuth or a token.
- Clear tool names and descriptions, since the model chooses tools from them.
An example
A marketing lead adds a custom connector pointing at their publishing server's /mcp URL. In ChatGPT they ask for "next week's LinkedIn posts from our last three blog posts." ChatGPT calls the planning tool, and drafts appear in the review queue.
Why it matters for AI-agent publishing
ChatGPT is where many non-developers already draft. A connector lets that drafting reach your publishing pipeline without copy and paste, and because the server is remote, its permissions are enforced where the model cannot bypass them.
SocialHandoff works as a ChatGPT custom connector over its streamable HTTP endpoint at /mcp, with the same scoped agent keys and approval step as every other client. See ChatGPT setup.