ChatGPT gets a Word add-in — free on every plan

What happened: On September 17, 2026, OpenAI launched an official ChatGPT add-in for Microsoft Word. Once installed from the Microsoft Marketplace, a button appears in Word's ribbon that opens a ChatGPT sidebar — you sign in with your account and can immediately draft text from notes, summarize the open document, rewrite a selected passage, or adjust headings and formatting. The add-in is available on every ChatGPT plan, including the free one, and works the same way in Excel and PowerPoint — once installed for Word, there's no need to install it again elsewhere. Starting October 1, 2026, OpenAI also plans to turn it on by default in business plans, though admins will be able to disable access from the ChatGPT admin console.

What it means for you: It removes the current back-and-forth of copying text between Word and a browser tab with ChatGPT:

• A draft from notes — paste bullet-point notes from a meeting and let AI build a first draft of a report or minutes directly in Word.
• A summary of a long document — for a lengthy contract or report, generate a short summary in the sidebar next to the text without leaving the document.
• Rewriting a selected paragraph — select a passage and have AI rephrase the tone or tighten it, with the result appearing right where you're working.

The difference from using ChatGPT in a browser is mainly that nothing needs to be copied back and forth — the draft is produced directly in the open file. This matters most for longer text: reports for leadership, contracts, or proposals, where you previously had to copy a passage into the browser, wait for a reply, paste it back, and fix the formatting by hand.

How to try it today:

1. In Word, open the Insert tab and look for Add-ins → Microsoft Marketplace.
2. Search for "ChatGPT" and install the add-in.
3. Click the ChatGPT icon in the ribbon and sign in with your account.
4. Type your request into the sidebar — for example "summarize this document into five bullet points" or "rewrite the selected paragraph more formally."

Watch out for: The add-in only sees the open document — any other material (like data from a different file) needs to be pasted into the prompt by hand. OpenAI itself warns that "ChatGPT can make mistakes and change content you intended to keep" — make a copy of the file before a larger edit. Conversations in the add-in also aren't saved to your regular ChatGPT history and don't support plugins, and for complex tables or charts you may still need to tidy up formatting by hand after AI touches them. The same principle applies here as everywhere else: AI proposes the edit, a human checks it before sending or saving. And because the add-in works directly with the open document's content — a contract, meeting notes — don't paste in personal data, client data, or internal company material without company approval; anonymize anything sensitive first.