ChatGPT 5.6: 7 Hidden Features That Change Everything
Summary of the video “NEW Hidden ChatGPT 5.6 Features You Didn't Realize Existed 👀 (new update)” by Rob The AI Guy.
ChatGPT 5.6 introduces skills (custom workflows), ChatGPT Sites (instant website builder), expanded computer control, ChatGPT Work (AI automation), scheduling, MCP plugins, and a unified app combining work and coding—unlocking automation capabilities most users don't know exist.
Skills: Custom Workflows from Your History
Four Ways to Create Skills
Skills let ChatGPT follow repeatable processes and SOPs. You can create them via chat interface, dedicated editor, file upload, or the hidden fourth method: asking ChatGPT to scan your chat history and suggest skills you should build based on your actual usage patterns.
Auto-Generated Skill Ideas from Memory
When you ask ChatGPT to suggest skills based on your interaction history, it scans your memory and chat history to identify recurring tasks. The system then generates prompts you can use to build those skills automatically.
ChatGPT Sites: Publish Live Websites in Seconds
Instant Website Creation and Publishing
ChatGPT Sites lets you turn ideas into live, interactive websites accessible to anyone on the internet in seconds. You can toggle between private (shared with only you) and public (anyone can access) via simple share settings, and publish directly from the interface.
Built-in Analytics Dashboard
Every ChatGPT Site includes analytics showing unique visitors, page views, traffic sources, and top pages. You can adjust granularity (hourly, daily) and customize date ranges to track performance.
Full Customization and Settings
Sites offer extensive customization options including edit mode, analytics viewing, and granular settings control. You can adjust every aspect of the website before publishing.
Critical Settings to Enable
Auto Review and Full Access Permissions
Enable 'auto review' and 'full access' to give ChatGPT full computer access and ability to manipulate system elements. You can configure safety so ChatGPT asks permission before attempting anything dangerous.
App Shots and Visual Context
Turn on 'app shots' in integrations to allow ChatGPT to capture visual and text context from your screen, enabling it to make changes and provide better feedback based on what it sees.
Essential Plugins to Activate
Enable browser (in-app browser control), computer use (any app access), visualize, and ensure Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, and Google Chrome extension are turned on. These unlock unlimited automation capabilities.
ChatGPT Work: AI-Powered Automation
Complete Workflows in Minutes
ChatGPT Work automates complex multi-step tasks. In one example, a user asked it to determine the best AI news topic, generate a title, write a script (using a custom skill), find B-roll sources, and create a thumbnail—completing roughly one hour of manual work in 2 minutes.
Integrated Output for Teams
ChatGPT Work generates not just content but also actionable deliverables like B-roll plans with source links that can be sent directly to editors, eliminating manual research steps.
Schedulable Automation
Complex workflows created in ChatGPT Work can be scheduled to run automatically at specified intervals, enabling hands-off automation of recurring tasks.
Scheduling and Automation
Dual Scheduling Options
You can schedule automations either from within a chat or from ChatGPT Work. Both paths allow you to describe exactly what you want automated or choose from preset templates.
Preset Scheduling Templates
ChatGPT includes preset schedules like 'Every Monday brief me on AI tool developments' that auto-populate with specific requirements (demos, tutorials, angles, title ideas under 60 characters). You can customize these or create entirely custom ones.
Memory-Based Automation Suggestions
Ask ChatGPT to generate multiple automation prompts based on your memory and recurring requests. It will suggest granular schedules tailored to your actual usage patterns, which you can then activate in the Scheduled section.
MCP Plugins and Integrations
Custom MCP Server Support
The plugins section now allows you to add custom MCP (Model Context Protocol) servers, giving you flexibility to connect ChatGPT to virtually any service or tool you need.
Expanding Plugin Marketplace
ChatGPT offers featured, productivity, and searchable plugin categories with new integrations added daily. You can search for specific services (e.g., Stripe, VidIQ) and see all available capabilities.
Real-Time Data Integration Example
Using the VidIQ plugin, you can ask ChatGPT to find video topic outliers, and it will pull live trending data, outlier scores, view counts, and identify which of your videos rank in the top trending results for that topic.
The Unified App: ChatGPT Work + Code
ChatGPT Catches Up to Claude
ChatGPT 5.6 combines ChatGPT Work and Codeex into a single super app, directly competing with Claude's integrated capabilities. The update closed a gap where Claude was previously ahead, and now ChatGPT is considered ahead due to the breadth of new features.
Unified Workflow for Work and Code
By combining ChatGPT Work and Codeex into one interface, users can now handle automation, content creation, and coding tasks without switching between separate tools.
Notable quotes
This is literally like an hour's worth of work, if not even longer, and this was able to complete this in 2 minutes. — Rob The AI Guy
This basically gives it unlimited capabilities and this unlocks so many different use cases. — Rob The AI Guy
They literally caught up to Claude immediately, released their newest and greatest models, and I'm incredibly excited for what's in store for ChatGPT. — Rob The AI Guy
Action items
- Enable auto review and full access in ChatGPT settings to unlock computer control capabilities
- Turn on app shots, browser, computer use, and all recommended plugins (Excel, PowerPoint, Chrome extension)
- Ask ChatGPT to scan your chat history and suggest skills you should create based on your actual usage patterns
- Create at least one custom skill using the prompts ChatGPT generates for your most repetitive tasks
- Set up a ChatGPT Site to publish an idea or tool you've been planning
- Use ChatGPT Work to automate a complex multi-step workflow you currently do manually
- Create 2-3 scheduled automations based on ChatGPT's memory-based suggestions for recurring tasks
- Search for and connect relevant MCP plugins (e.g., Stripe, VidIQ) to extend ChatGPT's capabilities for your use case