Use ByDesign with ChatGPT

Connect your ByDesign workspace to ChatGPT, then ask about your schedule, create tasks, reschedule your week or pull up a note, all without opening ByDesign. It works through ByDesign’s MCP server, which comes with every plan.

Updated November 5, 2026.

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What is MCP?

MCP (Model Context Protocol) is a standard that lets AI assistants connect to apps and work with your actual data.

Connecting ByDesign means ChatGPT can see your real tasks, events, habits and pages, and make changes for you. It isn’t a copy of your data sitting somewhere else: it reads and writes to your live workspace.

Everything stays behind your ByDesign login. You authorize the connection once, and you can disconnect it any time.

Everything ChatGPT can do in ByDesign

Once you’re connected, ask in plain words. Here’s what ChatGPT can work with, and something to try for each.

Your schedule

See what’s on for today, tomorrow or any date
Look across a range of days, weeks or months
Check what’s overdue
Pull up the full details of any task, event or habit

Try“What’s on my plate today?”

Tasks

Create one task or several at once
Add tasks straight to your inbox
Add subtasks
Reschedule, update, complete or delete tasks
Move tasks between pages, folders or the inbox
Search across your whole workspace
Find and merge duplicates

Try“Add three tasks for the launch prep on Thursday.”

Events

Create events with guests, recurrence and reminders
Reschedule or update any detail
RSVP to invitations
Delete events and cancel them for guests

Try“Book a 30-minute catch-up with Sam on Friday afternoon.”

Habits

Create habits with recurrence
Log them as done, skipped or undone
Update the schedule or timing
See which ones are on track

Try“Mark my morning run as done for today.”

Pages and notes

Read any page in full, including its tasks
Create new pages
Add content or tasks to an existing page
Update or delete pages
Organise pages into folders
Share a page with someone in your workspace

Try“Add a note to my Portugal trip page about booking the Sintra tickets.”

Reminders

Add reminders to any task, event or habit
See which reminders are already set
Remove them

Try“Add a reminder to my dentist appointment an hour before.”

Calendars

See which calendars are connected
Read events from Google, Apple or Outlook
Push a ByDesign event, task or habit to a connected calendar

Try“Which of my calendars are connected to ByDesign?”

Workspace overview

Get a health check across your whole workspace
See every project and page with its current state
Check your scheduling preferences and timezone

Try“How’s my workspace looking? Anything falling behind?”

ByDesign and your other ChatGPT plugins

If ChatGPT is also connected to your other tools, you can move information between them and ByDesign without copying anything by hand. For example:

From a Slack thread
“Read the thread in #product from this morning and add anything I agreed to as tasks for this week.”
Useful after a standup or a decision thread where things got assigned to you.
From an email
“Find the email from the accountant about the filing deadline and add the steps as tasks with the right dates.”
Works well for deadlines buried in a paragraph, like renewals, invoices or bookings.
From a document
“Open the Q4 roadmap doc and create a page in ByDesign with the milestones as tasks.”
Turns a brief or a spec in Google Drive or Notion into a schedule.
Across your calendars
“Look at my calendar next week and tell me where I could fit three hours of focused work.”
Your connected calendars are already visible to ByDesign; one conversation can reason across both.
The other way round
“Check my overdue tasks and write me an email to the client explaining the new timeline.”
Your ByDesign plan can feed an update in Slack or an email.

How to connect ByDesign to ChatGPT

You add ByDesign as a custom MCP server from ChatGPT’s Plugins page, on chatgpt.com or in the desktop app. We set it up on a free ChatGPT account.

ByDesign MCP server URL

https://mcp.bydesign.io/mcp

On chatgpt.com

Step 1: Open Plugins
Sign in at chatgpt.com and click Plugins in the sidebar.
Step 2: Add a custom MCP server
Click Add at the top right, then choose Add custom MCP server.
Step 3: Enter the ByDesign details
Name it ByDesign, keep Connection on Server URL and paste the server URL, and leave Authentication on OAuth. Tick I understand and want to continue, then click Create as a plugin.
https://mcp.bydesign.io/mcp
Step 4: Connect ByDesign
ChatGPT explains what it may share with ByDesign, such as relevant memories (if you’ve turned them on) and chats. Click Connect ByDesign.
Step 5: Authorize in ByDesign
ByDesign’s page opens. Sign in if you’re asked, check what the connection will let ChatGPT do, and click Authorize.
Step 6: Check it’s installed
ByDesign now shows under Plugins in ChatGPT’s settings, where you can set what it may do without asking, or disconnect it.
Step 7: Use it in a chat
Start a new chat, click + in the message box and choose ByDesign, then ask away.

In the ChatGPT desktop app (Mac)

Step 1: Open Plugins in Settings
Open Settings in the ChatGPT desktop app and click Plugins.
Step 2: Browse plugins
Click Browse plugins.
Step 3: Add a custom MCP server
In the Plugins window, click Add, then choose Add custom MCP server.
Step 4: Finish as on the web
The rest is the same as on chatgpt.com: enter the ByDesign details, tick I understand and want to continue, click Create as a plugin, then Connect ByDesign and Authorize (steps 3 to 7 above).

Good to know

It reads and writes. ChatGPT can make real changes to your workspace, not just read it. Deleting a page or an event is permanent, so be clear about what you’re asking for.
It uses your real settings. Your work hours, calendar blocks and scheduling preferences all apply: if you’ve told ByDesign not to schedule before 9 am, that’s respected here too.
Your connected calendars are included. If you’ve synced Google, Apple or Outlook, those events are visible when it works out your availability.
Everything stays behind your ByDesign login. You authorize the connection once, in your browser, and you can disconnect any time by removing ByDesign from ChatGPT.
MCP comes with every ByDesign plan, from Pro at $8 a month. Each plan includes a monthly allowance of MCP requests, counted separately from ByDesign’s AI credits, and every plan starts with a 7-day free trial with no credit card.
Before you connect, ChatGPT explains what it may share with ByDesign, such as relevant memories (if you’ve turned them on) and chats. Under Plugins in ChatGPT’s settings you choose what ByDesign may do without asking; the default is Allow low-risk tools.

ChatGPT or ByDesign’s own AI?

ByDesign also has a built-in AI assistant. The two work side by side: connect ChatGPT on any plan, and add ByDesign’s own AI planning if you want it.

ChatGPT, connected through MCP

Works on every ByDesign plan, including Pro at $8 a month, which has no built-in AI.
Use the assistant you already use, alongside the other tools you’ve connected to ChatGPT.
Reads and updates your tasks, events, habits, pages and reminders, and reads your synced calendars.

ByDesign’s own AI (AI plan)

Comes with the AI plan, $15 a month or $119 a year, with 500 AI credits a month.
Turns a goal into tasks, subtasks, courses and deadlines on your calendar.
Schedules around your hours and shows every change on the calendar before it’s saved; includes the year-to-day planning canvas and voice control.

Troubleshooting

ChatGPT doesn’t see ByDesign after setup: Start a new chat, click + in the message box and choose ByDesign.
The authorization page didn’t open: Check that pop-ups aren’t blocked in your browser, then try adding ByDesign again.
It can’t find something you know exists: Name it more specifically: “my Portugal trip page” works better than “that trip thing”.
Still stuck?: Reach out through the chat inside ByDesign and the team will help you sort it.

Use another AI assistant?

ByDesign’s MCP server also works with Claude, on claude.ai, in the Claude desktop app and in Claude Code, and with Gemini.

Use ByDesign with Claude →Use ByDesign with Gemini →

ChatGPT and ByDesign questions

Does ByDesign work with ChatGPT?

Yes. You add ByDesign’s MCP server, at https://mcp.bydesign.io/mcp, to ChatGPT as a plugin. Once connected, you can ask about your schedule, create tasks, reschedule your week or pull up a note without opening ByDesign.

What is MCP?

MCP (Model Context Protocol) is a standard that lets AI assistants connect to apps and work with your actual data. ByDesign has its own MCP server, so ChatGPT can work with your real tasks, events, habits and pages.

Where do I add ByDesign in ChatGPT?

On chatgpt.com, open Plugins in the sidebar, click Add and choose Add custom MCP server. Name it ByDesign, paste ByDesign’s server URL, tick I understand and want to continue and click Create as a plugin. Then click Connect ByDesign, and Authorize on ByDesign’s page. In the desktop app, open Settings → Plugins → Browse plugins, then Add → Add custom MCP server.

Which ByDesign plan do I need?

Any of them. MCP comes with Pro, AI and AI Plus, from $8 a month, and every plan starts with a 7-day free trial with no credit card.

Do I need ByDesign’s AI plan to use ChatGPT with it?

No. The MCP connection comes with every plan, including Pro, which has no built-in AI. The AI plan adds ByDesign’s own assistant, which turns goals into scheduled plans and previews every change.

Can ChatGPT change or delete things in ByDesign?

Yes, it reads and writes. When you ask, it can create, update, complete or delete tasks, create, update or delete events and pages, and create and log habits. Deleting a page or an event is permanent, so be clear about what you’re asking for.

Does it work with my live data?

Yes. It reads and writes to your live ByDesign workspace, not a copy of your data sitting somewhere else, and everything stays behind your ByDesign login.

Can ChatGPT see my Google, Apple or Outlook calendar?

It sees the calendars you’ve connected to ByDesign and can read their events, which count when it works out your availability. It can also push a ByDesign event, task or habit to one of them.

Does it work on ChatGPT’s free plan?

Yes. We added ByDesign as a plugin on a free ChatGPT account, following the steps on this page.

How do I disconnect ByDesign from ChatGPT?

Disconnect ByDesign under Plugins in ChatGPT’s settings. That stops ChatGPT’s new access to your ByDesign data.

Plan in ChatGPT, keep it all in ByDesign

Tasks, calendar, habits and notes in one app, with AI planning built in. Free for 7 days, no credit card.

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