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Welcome to the Friday edition of our newsletter. We spend Fridays going deeper into tools and trends related to generative AI (and Tuesdays sharing news updates). This week, Professor Snider sheds some light on newer ChatGPT features.

When was the last time you explored ChatGPT beyond the box where you type your questions?

OpenAI has been racing to add features that change what you can do - from building a website and teaching it your process for recurring tasks, to connecting it to your work apps or giving it an animated pet.

Some of these features are easy to miss. Others are still rolling out or require a particular plan or the desktop app. But they’re worth knowing about because they could change how you use AI at work.

Below are 10 ChatGPT features you may not have tried, what they do, and how to get started.

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Pets: ChatGPT Pets first appeared in Codex in May 2026. They are optional animated companions that keep you company while AI works. They can show when ChatGPT is working, when it needs your input, and when it’s finished. In the desktop app, you can also start a chat from the controls beneath your pet (see my example below). You can choose a pre-made pet character or create your own. Turn Pets on in Settings and type /pet in the ChatGPT desktop app (download the desktop app here) to make your pet appear.

Sites: Sites appeared in Codex in June 2026 and expanded into ChatGPT in July. Sites lets you build and publish a website or simple web app by describing what you want. You could create a resource hub, interactive calculator, dashboard, or game without writing the code yourself. Preview the result, ask for changes, and publish it when you’re ready. To get started, ask ChatGPT Work to build a site and explain who it’s for and what it should do.

Dots: OpenAI announced Dots in September 2026 as an answer to Meta’s Muse. A dot is a personal AI agent that can take responsibility for ongoing work and continue making progress between conversations. You give it a goal, connect the apps it needs, and decide what it can do on its own. It brings back results and asks for your judgment when needed. To get started, look for the option to set up your dot in ChatGPT. Access is rolling out gradually to eligible accounts (you currently need the $100/month pro plan; Muse is free).

Space: OpenAI announced ChatGPT Space in September 2026. Space brings files and editable Pages together so you can develop work with ChatGPT and other people. You can draft and revise content, make edits yourself, and invite collaborators to view, comment, or edit. Think of it as a shared workspace for work you want to keep developing. When Space is available to your account, create a Page and use ChatGPT alongside it to help build the content.

Slides: ChatGPT Slides lets you build presentations right inside ChatGPT Space – start from a conversation, files, or an outline, or share an example deck to set the style. You can edit text, images, and charts yourself or ask ChatGPT to do it, and teammates can edit and comment in real time. When you’re done, present from ChatGPT or export to PowerPoint, PDF, or Google Slides.

@ChatGPT in Slack and Teams: OpenAI announced expanded ChatGPT deployments for Slack and Microsoft Teams in September 2026. They bring ChatGPT into approved workplace conversations, where people can request help using the organization’s connected tools. Your organization controls who can use it, which conversations it can access, and which tools are available. To get started, your administrator needs to set up the integration and make the ChatGPT app available in the appropriate channels or teams.

Work: ChatGPT Work launched in July 2026. It lets you hand ChatGPT a task to carry through to a finished result, such as a presentation, spreadsheet analysis, research brief, or recurring report. It can gather information from your files and connected apps, plan the steps, and create work for you to review. You can follow its progress and change direction along the way. To get started, switch to Work and describe the outcome you need, including relevant files, instructions, and examples.

Reusable skills: Skills let you teach ChatGPT a repeatable way to complete a task. A skill can include instructions, examples, templates, and other resources so you don’t have to explain your process every time. You could create a skill for writing your newsletter, reviewing proposals, or making graphics in your brand’s style. In June 2026, Record & Replay added a way to turn demonstrated workflows into skills. To create one through conversation, start with @skill-creator and describe the process and result you want.

Connected apps: Connected apps give ChatGPT access to information and actions in services you already use, such as email, calendars, and file storage. OpenAI highlighted these connections through the ChatGPT plugin directory in July 2026. Depending on the integration and permissions, ChatGPT can find information, summarize content, or help complete actions in those services. To get started, browse the plugin directory, choose an app, and connect your account. Then tell ChatGPT how you want it to use that connection.

Event-triggered tasks: Event-triggered tasks arrived in August 2026. They let ChatGPT start work when something happens in a connected app, such as an email arriving, a message appearing in a selected Slack channel, or feedback being added to a GitHub pull request. For example, you could ask it to summarize new emails from a particular sender. To get started, connect the app, then tell ChatGPT which event to watch for and what to do. These tasks are available on eligible plans through the web and mobile apps.

Not sure where to start? I recommend setting up your pet (because it’s fun) and setting up your first skill (because it’s useful). Start by creating a skill that writes in your voice or one that formats text in a way you regularly need.

OpenAI continues to add (and change) features regularly as it moves from a chatbot to a tool that can do real work for you. Follow ChatGPT’s product release page to keep up on these and more updates.