I am requesting your assistance with a serious ChatGPT product feature proposal that I would like to bring to the attention of the appropriate OpenAI Product Management, Product Development, and leadership teams.
Please read my complete proposal carefully before responding. I am not asking for information about existing ChatGPT features. I am proposing an expansion of ChatGPT’s customization capabilities to address an accessibility gap for individual users.
FEATURE PROPOSAL
Bring User-Created Custom Skills to Personal ChatGPT Accounts, Including Free-Tier Users
1. THE PROBLEM
OpenAI already has a Skills ecosystem that supports reusable workflows and specialized capabilities. However, according to the current documentation, user-created Skills are available only to eligible organizational workspaces, including Business, Enterprise, Healthcare and Edu, subject to workspace settings.
Individual personal-account users, including Free-tier users, do not currently have documented access to this user-created Skills functionality.
Existing Custom Instructions and Memory are useful, but they are not equivalent to independently installable, reusable and configurable skills containing specialized instructions, reference materials, workflows, scripts and compatible tool integrations.
This creates an accessibility gap for students, independent developers, researchers and young innovators.
2. THE FEATURE I AM REQUESTING
I propose extending the existing Skills ecosystem to ordinary personal ChatGPT accounts.
Users should be able to:
- Create their own custom skills according to their individual goals.
- Import and install compatible skill packages from their devices.
- Provide specialized instructions, reference documents, workflows and supporting files.
- Use compatible scripts and authorized external tool integrations.
- Enable, disable, edit, update and remove their installed skills.
- Reuse their skills across conversations and different projects.
- Improve their skills through feedback and iterative refinement.
- Manage their own personal skill library.
I am requesting an extension of the existing Skills system, not an entirely separate or unnecessarily complicated product.
3. MY MOST IMPORTANT REQUEST: FREE-TIER ACCESS
I specifically request that OpenAI make basic user-created Custom Skills available to Free-tier users.
I understand that AI infrastructure, storage, execution and external integrations have operational costs. I am not demanding unlimited free usage.
Instead, I propose a sustainable tier-based model:
FREE:
- One or two active custom skills.
- Basic skill creation and importing.
- Limited storage and execution.
- Access to basic skill instructions and reference materials.
GO:
- Higher skill limits.
- Expanded customization and storage.
PLUS:
- More extensive skill management.
- Additional execution and integration capabilities.
PRO AND ABOVE:
- Advanced customization.
- Higher usage limits.
- Expanded integrations and professional workflows.
These are suggestions for consideration, not rigid pricing demands.
Even one or two custom skills would be enough to empower many Free-tier users.
4. WHY THIS MATTERS FOR STUDENTS AND YOUNG DEVELOPERS
Please consider the situation of students and independent developers who have ambitious ideas but limited financial resources.
Many young people are learning programming, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, software engineering and other technical disciplines.
They may not have the money to purchase expensive subscriptions or organizational plans.
However, they should still have the opportunity to customize their AI assistants and experiment with specialized knowledge.
A student’s financial situation should not prevent them from accessing basic AI customization capabilities.
5. A REAL-WORLD USE CASE: PATCHPROOF
I am personally developing a cybersecurity application called PatchProof.
During its development, I wanted to equip ChatGPT with specialized security-engineering knowledge, vulnerability-analysis methodologies, verification workflows and technical references from external tools such as RedCell.
My objective is to make ChatGPT more effective at assisting with complex, long-term technical projects.
If I could install a compatible custom skill, I could provide specialized instructions, supporting documentation and authorized integrations once, then reuse that expertise throughout development.
This is not an isolated use case. Similar requirements exist across programming, research, education, engineering, design and many other fields.
6. SECURITY REQUIREMENTS
I also recognize that user-imported skills could introduce security risks.
Therefore, the feature should include:
- Automated security scanning of imported skill packages.
- Sandboxed execution of scripts.
- Explicit permission controls for external tools.
- Protection against malicious instructions and prompt injection.
- User approval before sensitive actions.
- Clear visibility into what each skill can access and execute.
Security should be built into the feature rather than used as a reason to exclude individual users entirely.
7. WHY CUSTOM SKILLS ARE DIFFERENT FROM CUSTOM INSTRUCTIONS AND MEMORY
I want to emphasize this distinction because it is central to my proposal.
Custom Instructions primarily customize general assistant behaviour.
Memory retains useful contextual information.
Custom Skills provide reusable specialized capabilities, workflows, supporting resources and potentially authorized tool integrations.
These functionalities complement one another; they are not interchangeable.
8. MY REQUEST TO OPENAI
I respectfully request that this proposal be considered by the appropriate OpenAI teams responsible for:
- ChatGPT product management.
- ChatGPT personalization and customization.
- Skills and extensibility.
- Free-tier product accessibility.
- Developer experience.
I understand that a support assistant may not have the authority to directly contact Product Management, create an internal product ticket or guarantee escalation.
Nevertheless, please help me identify the most appropriate official channel for submitting this proposal for product consideration.
If this support channel cannot forward it, please provide specific guidance on where and how I can submit it so that it has the best chance of reaching the relevant product decision-makers.
Please also clarify whether OpenAI has an established process for collecting and evaluating feature requests from individual Free-tier users.
9. THE CENTRAL MESSAGE
I want to conclude with one simple idea:
Give every ChatGPT user the ability to teach, customize and extend their AI assistant according to their own goals, even if they cannot afford a paid subscription.
One or two custom skills for Free users would be a reasonable starting point.
I am not asking OpenAI to provide unlimited computational resources for free. I am asking for an opportunity for students, young developers and independent innovators to participate in the Custom Skills ecosystem.
Great ideas and innovation should not be restricted by a user’s financial circumstances.
I believe this improvement could make ChatGPT more accessible, customizable, developer-friendly and useful to a much broader community.
Thank you for taking the time to read my proposal.
IMPORTANT RESPONSE REQUEST:
Please address the actual feature proposal rather than simply repeating the current Skills documentation. I already understand the existing eligibility restrictions.
I would appreciate a clear response explaining:
1. The official channel for submitting this proposal.
2. Whether individual Free-tier users can submit product feature requests.
3. Whether this proposal can be shared with the appropriate product-feedback team through any available process.
I appreciate your assistance and hope this suggestion can receive serious consideration.