Why Custom GPTs Matter for Your AI Search Strategy

OpenAI launched its GPT store on January 10, creating a centralized hub for popular and trending custom GPTs. In just two months, creators built over three million custom GPTs covering topics from writing and research to hiking and astrology. Businesses are already using custom GPTs to create personalized AI chatbots that assist employees, partners, and customers. Canva stands out as a notable example of early adoption.

When asked why Canva invested in custom GPTs, Anwar Haneef, Canva’s Head of Ecosystem, explained that GPTs allow people to use their favorite products in a convenient, interactive way. This creates a discovery engine for businesses. Haneef shared insights on why Canva invested early in custom GPTs and why other companies should consider following suit.

New Entry Points for Brand Discovery

Custom GPTs introduce a fresh entry point to your brand ecosystem. Canva’s mission focuses on empowering the world to design, and AI accelerates this goal by increasing design accessibility. ChatGPT Plus costs $20/month, representing a low barrier to entry for users intrigued by design but unsure where to start.

Haneef noted that as people embrace chatbots and ChatGPT, the platform provides another entry point for anyone to move from idea to first draft design quickly. Users gain access to further customize the output in Canva. The company had already launched Magic Design, technology that powers their GPT and allows users to generate any design by entering a text prompt. Building the custom GPT made Magic Design accessible to a new user set while giving users a chance to have more dialogue and add specific requests.

Consider a scenario where you ask Canva’s GPT to design a colorful, vibrant logo for a new cat cafe in downtown Boston. The GPT generates the design, and as you become more comfortable with the process, you might transition to a Canva account to finish the logo and add a compelling landing page. This flow demonstrates how custom GPTs function as a powerful lead generation strategy.

Understanding the Entry Point Advantage

Custom GPTs serve as conversational front doors to your products. Users interact with your brand through dialogue rather than traditional navigation. This conversational approach lowers friction for first-time users who might feel overwhelmed by complex interfaces. The GPT handles initial ideation while your platform manages refinement and execution.

The entry point model works because it meets users at their current comfort level. Someone exploring design concepts through ChatGPT doesn’t need to immediately master professional design software. They can start with simple prompts and gradually discover deeper capabilities. This gradual onboarding builds confidence and increases the likelihood of long-term engagement.

Custom GPTs as Discovery Engines

ChatGPT currently has approximately 180.5 million users, creating a powerful opportunity for connecting with new potential customers. Haneef views custom GPTs as a significant opportunity to meet users where they are, especially those open to trying new technologies and ways of working.

GPTs allow people to use their favorite products in a convenient and interactive way, becoming a discovery engine for businesses. Haneef expressed excitement about the uptake seen so far, noting that it’s still early days. He envisions the future of Canva as one comprehensive AI platform, bringing leading AI models onto Canva while also bringing Canva’s AI products onto other top platforms.

Asking why you might create a custom GPT is similar to asking why you might create an Instagram account. OpenAI represents a powerful platform for reaching new users seeking tools and products you offer. You need to position your brand on the platforms your users leverage most. If they’re on OpenAI, you should be there too.

Platform Positioning Strategy

OpenAI has positioned itself to attract a wide range of users. Creating a GPT helps a company connect with that growing user base and harness the power of a large language model in a context users are increasingly familiar with. This positioning strategy mirrors traditional social media adoption, where brands establish presence on platforms where their audience already spends time.

The discovery engine concept works through familiarity and convenience. Users don’t need to learn new interfaces or download separate applications. They interact with your brand through the conversation tool they already use daily. This reduces friction and increases the probability that users will engage with your offerings.

Measuring Success on GPT Pro

While awareness and user acquisition represent excellent benefits, Haneef clarified that Canva isn’t intentionally leveraging the GPT as a user acquisition engine. The company sees some uptick in new users coming from this platform, but it’s still early. The learnings from engaging with this customer base outweigh the benefits of user acquisition at this point.

Canva’s current goal focuses on understanding how users embrace and interact with this mode of design creation and conversational editing. The company naturally saw this as an opportunity to gain greater understanding of conversational editing, learn what designs people want to generate when using this format, and learn from a user base assumed to be very AI-savvy.

Learning Over Acquisition

Early-stage experimentation prioritizes learning over immediate conversion. Canva uses the GPT platform to observe how users phrase requests, what design outcomes they expect, and how they refine their prompts. These insights inform product development and user experience improvements across the entire platform.

The AI-savvy user base provides valuable feedback. These users push boundaries, test edge cases, and reveal unexpected use cases. Their behavior patterns help identify friction points and opportunities for improvement. This learning phase establishes a foundation for scaling GPT capabilities once the interaction model matures.

Best Use Cases for Custom GPTs

When asked which use cases seem best-suited for custom GPTs, Haneef emphasized that the most impactful GPTs will leverage AI as a creative partner. GPTs used to brainstorm creative ideas, conduct research, and act on results by performing actions will prove incredibly useful for consumers.

For instance, Canva’s custom GPT users might leverage the GPT to generate a social media post, create a poster, or brainstorm creative designs for a presentation. Haneef expressed excitement about how GPTs can radically simplify policies, guidelines, or instructions around performing a task. Users would otherwise need to peruse large volumes of content to understand these materials. The company is already seeing custom GPTs used within their teams for simplifying operational tasks.

Creative Partnership Applications

Custom GPTs excel when they function as collaborative tools rather than simple query responders. The creative partnership model means the AI contributes ideas, suggests alternatives, and helps users iterate on concepts. This differs significantly from traditional search, where users find static information.

Brainstorming sessions benefit from GPT capabilities because the AI can generate multiple variations quickly. Users explore directions they might not have considered independently. Research tasks become more efficient because the GPT can synthesize information from multiple sources and present organized summaries. Action-oriented use cases succeed when the GPT can execute tasks based on the research or brainstorming outcomes.

Operational Simplification Opportunities

Internal operations represent another strong use case for custom GPTs. Companies with complex policies, procedures, and guidelines can create GPTs that simplify access to this information. Employees ask questions in natural language and receive concise, relevant answers rather than searching through lengthy documents.

This simplification reduces training time for new employees and helps existing staff find information quickly. The GPT acts as a knowledgeable colleague who understands company-specific context. Operational tasks that previously required hours of research can be completed in minutes through conversational interaction.

Building Custom GPTs vs. Using Existing Tools

A natural question arises: Do brands really need to create their own custom GPTs versus leveraging the plentiful AI tools that already exist? Could we eventually oversaturate the market with too many custom GPTs? Haneef isn’t concerned about oversaturation.

As with any new platform, it’s difficult to predict how things will evolve. Participating early gives builders the opportunity to learn from early users and help shape the platform. It’s difficult to predict consumer behavior, but building a custom GPT helps understand and refine how consumers will interact with products in a conversational manner.

A custom GPT represents an opportunity to showcase brand, voice, and product value in a new way. Together with users, companies can refine how this interaction will evolve. As with any new platform, it makes sense to get in early. These are the early days of custom GPTs, and taking time to develop and test your own custom GPT can go a long way toward growing reach and interacting with users in a fun, new way.

Early Adopter Advantages

Early participation in emerging platforms provides several distinct advantages. First, early adopters influence platform development through their usage patterns and feedback. Second, they establish brand recognition within the new ecosystem before competitors arrive. Third, they gain experience that becomes valuable as the platform matures and adoption increases.

The learning curve for early adopters translates into competitive advantage. Companies that experiment with custom GPTs now understand what works, what doesn’t, and how users respond to different interaction models. This knowledge becomes difficult for latecomers to replicate. The first-mover advantage extends beyond simple timing—it includes accumulated experience and refined strategies.

Shaping Platform Evolution

Participating early means helping shape the platform’s future direction. OpenAI observes how companies build and deploy custom GPTs, then adjusts features and capabilities accordingly. Early adopters effectively contribute to the roadmap through their real-world usage. Their success stories become case studies that attract other businesses.

This collaborative evolution benefits everyone involved. The platform improves based on actual business needs rather than hypothetical scenarios. Companies get tools that match their specific requirements because they helped define those requirements through early experimentation. The feedback loop between users and platform developers accelerates innovation.

Practical Implementation Considerations

Before building a custom GPT, consider what value you can provide through conversational interaction. Your GPT should solve specific problems, answer common questions, or enable creative workflows that align with your brand’s core offerings. Think about the journey users take from their first prompt to deeper engagement with your products or services.

Start with a clear use case that demonstrates your brand’s expertise. Whether you simplify complex information, generate creative content, or provide personalized recommendations, your GPT should deliver immediate value. This initial value creates trust and encourages users to explore additional capabilities.

Monitor how users interact with your GPT during the early stages. Pay attention to the questions they ask, the prompts they use, and the outcomes they seek. These patterns reveal opportunities for improvement and expansion. The data you collect informs both your GPT development and broader product strategy.

Testing and Iteration Framework

Launch with a focused scope rather than attempting to cover every possible use case. A narrowly defined GPT that excels at specific tasks outperforms a broad GPT that handles everything mediocrely. Once you validate the core use case, expand capabilities based on actual user behavior.

Iterate based on real usage data rather than assumptions. Users will reveal needs you didn’t anticipate and use your GPT in ways you didn’t predict. This discovery process is valuable—it shows you where your brand can add value in the conversational AI space. Regular updates keep your GPT relevant and improve user satisfaction over time.

Integration with Existing Systems

Your custom GPT should connect seamlessly with your existing products and services. The transition from conversation to action needs to feel natural. If your GPT generates a design, users should easily access the full design tool. If it provides recommendations, users should smoothly navigate to detailed product pages.

This integration requires thoughtful planning. Map the user journey from initial prompt through final action. Identify potential friction points and eliminate them before launch. The goal is creating a cohesive experience where the GPT serves as a natural extension of your brand ecosystem rather than an isolated experiment.

The Future of Conversational Brand Presence

Custom GPTs represent more than a marketing channel—they represent a fundamental shift in how brands interact with audiences. Conversational AI lowers barriers to engagement, making complex products accessible to broader audiences. Brands that invest now position themselves for the future of AI-driven discovery.

The GPT store creates a marketplace where brands compete on usefulness, creativity, and user experience. Success requires understanding your audience’s needs and delivering value through conversation. This approach aligns with the broader shift toward answer engine optimization, where brands optimize content for AI-generated responses rather than traditional search rankings.

As AI search continues evolving, brands that establish strong conversational presence will benefit from increased visibility and engagement. Custom GPTs provide a testing ground for understanding how audiences interact with your brand through AI. The insights gained inform broader content and product strategies.

Long-Term Strategic Value

The strategic value of custom GPTs extends beyond immediate user acquisition. They provide a window into how AI-savvy users think, what they value, and how they want to interact with brands. This understanding shapes future product development, content creation, and customer experience design.

Brands that treat custom GPTs as learning platforms rather than conversion tools gain deeper insights. They understand emerging user behaviors before they become mainstream. This foresight enables proactive adaptation rather than reactive response to market changes. The early investment in conversational AI capabilities pays dividends as these interaction models become standard expectations.

Building for the AI-First Era

The shift toward AI-first interactions represents a fundamental change in digital marketing. Traditional SEO focused on keyword optimization and page rankings. Answer engine optimization focuses on providing clear, authoritative answers that AI systems can confidently cite. Custom GPTs sit at the intersection of these approaches, combining brand presence with conversational utility.

Brands preparing for this future focus on creating content and experiences optimized for AI consumption. They understand that visibility in AI-generated answers requires different strategies than traditional search. Custom GPTs offer a direct channel for demonstrating expertise, building trust, and guiding users toward meaningful engagement with your brand.

The question isn’t whether custom GPTs will become important—they already are. The question is how you’ll use them to connect with your audience in ways that feel natural, valuable, and aligned with your brand’s mission. Early experimentation, thoughtful iteration, and focus on user value create a strong foundation for long-term success in the conversational AI landscape.