To use the MindMap AI plugin in ChatGPT, open Plugins in the ChatGPT sidebar, search for MindMap AI in the directory, open the first result, click Install plugin, log in to your MindMap AI account, and approve the permissions. Then hit Try in chat, or @mention MindMap AI in any conversation, and ask for a map. Setup takes about two minutes, connecting is free with bonus credits included, and there is no code to write.
ChatGPT is great at thinking through a problem with you. It is less great at showing you the shape of that thinking. The MindMap AI plugin fixes that: any chat can become a real, editable mind map that renders right there in the conversation. This guide walks through the whole thing: what the plugin actually does, the eight clicks that get it running, and the prompts worth trying first.
What the MindMap AI plugin actually does
The plugin hands ChatGPT a set of mind mapping tools it can call on your behalf, using your own MindMap AI account. Once it is installed, you can ask for a map from a topic, a brainstorm, a set of meeting notes, or anything you share in the chat, and then keep refining it by talking to it.
- Create – Turn a topic, an outline, notes, or a whole conversation into a structured map.
- Refine – Expand a branch, add relationship arrows to build a concept map, group ideas with summary brackets, or reorganise the structure.
- Restyle – Switch between mind map, logic chart, and org chart layouts, and apply themes.
- Export – Take the finished map out as a file when you are done.
- Keep – Every map is saved to your MindMap AI account, where you can carry on editing it on the canvas with full styling control.
Installing is free and comes with bonus credits to get you started. Map creation and AI edits use credits from your MindMap AI account (see plans and monthly credits); viewing and exporting your maps never uses credits, and manual editing on the canvas is always free.
Before you start
Two things, both quick:
- A ChatGPT account – do the setup on chatgpt.com in a desktop browser. The plugins directory lives in the left sidebar.
- A MindMap AI account – you can sign up free during the install flow with Google, Apple, or email, so there is nothing to prepare in advance.
How to set up the MindMap AI plugin in ChatGPT
Eight steps, start to finish. You only do this once. After that the plugin is available in every chat.
Already signed in to ChatGPT? Jump straight to the MindMap AI plugin page and pick things up at Step 4. The steps below show the full path from a fresh chat.
Step 1: Open ChatGPT, then the Plugins tab
Go to chatgpt.com and click Plugins in the left sidebar. It sits between Library and Projects and opens the plugins directory.
Step 2: Browse the directory
Every plugin you can add to ChatGPT lives here. Use the search box in the top right rather than scrolling the Featured list.
Step 3: Search "MindMap AI"
Type MindMap AI into the search and open the first result. You will see it listed with the description "Mind maps, concept maps & more".
Step 4: Install the plugin
On the MindMap AI page, click Install plugin in the top right. One click and you are most of the way there.
Step 5: Log in to MindMap AI
A MindMap AI login window opens. Sign in with Google, Apple, or email, or create a free account on the spot. Nothing to prepare in advance.
Step 6: Allow access
Approve the permissions so ChatGPT can create and edit mind maps, read the maps it creates or you share, export maps to files, and see your name, email, and plan. Only you, signed in to your account, can approve the connection.
Step 7: Try it in chat
Back on the plugin page, the Install button becomes Try in chat. Click it to start a conversation with the plugin ready, or skip the button entirely and @mention MindMap AI in any chat.
Step 8: Then just ask
Type "@MindMap AI Create a mind map about the Butterfly Effect" and watch the map render right in the chat, ready for follow-up edits in plain language.
Prompts to try in your next chat
The @mention is how you call the plugin into a conversation. Start with the first one, then keep going in the same chat. Each follow-up edits the same map rather than starting over.
- Create – "@MindMap AI Map out my Q4 launch plan."
- Expand – "Expand the Marketing branch into channels, owners, and deadlines."
- Connect – "@MindMap AI Add arrows to my map to show how ideas connect."
- Recall – "@MindMap AI Show me my recent mind maps."
- Export – "Export the map so I can drop it into Friday's deck."
Where this earns its keep:
Brainstorming that has outgrown a bullet list, study notes you want to see as a structure instead of a wall of text, meeting notes that need turning into owners and next steps, and planning sessions where the relationships matter more than the order. If you are weighing your options inside ChatGPT, see how MindMap AI compares in our test of the best ChatGPT plugins for mind mapping.
If something does not work
| What you see | What to do |
|---|---|
| ChatGPT answers in text, no map | Call the plugin by name. Type @, pick MindMap AI from the list, and ask again. |
| MindMap AI is not in the directory search | Check the spelling with the space, and make sure you are searching inside Plugins, not the general chat box. |
| Install worked but login never appeared | Pop-ups may be blocked. Allow pop-ups for chatgpt.com, then open the plugin page and run the install again. |
| Creation or edits stop working | You may be out of credits. Viewing and exporting existing maps and manual canvas edits stay free, so your work is not locked away. |
| The plugin edits the wrong map | Name it. Say which map or which branch you mean, or start a fresh chat for a new topic. |
Still stuck? The MCP connector help article covers connection issues in more depth, including the Claude side of the connector.
Final thoughts
Eight clicks is a low price for turning every ChatGPT conversation into something you can see. Install it once, @mention it when a chat starts sprawling, and let the structure appear while you are still thinking. Your first maps are on us with the free bonus credits.
FAQ
No. MindMap AI is listed in ChatGPT's plugins directory, so setup is a search, an Install click, and a login to your MindMap AI account. There is no API key to paste, no file to configure, and nothing to download. The whole flow runs inside chatgpt.com in a desktop browser and takes about two minutes.
Yes, installing is free and includes bonus credits to get started. Map creation and AI edits draw on credits from your MindMap AI account, the same balance you use on the web app. Viewing and exporting your maps never uses credits, and manual editing on the canvas is always free, so a finished map is never locked away.
The approval screen lists them: create and edit mind maps, read the maps it creates or you share, export maps to files, and see your name, email, and plan. ChatGPT cannot see maps you have not shared with it, and only you, signed in to your account, can approve the connection. You can remove the plugin at any time from ChatGPT's plugin settings.
Every map is saved to your MindMap AI account, not just the chat. Open it on the canvas to keep editing with full styling control, share it, or export it in the formats your plan includes. Nothing disappears when the conversation ends, and you can ask for your recent maps in a later chat to pick one up again.
The @mention is how you bring the plugin into a conversation, and it is the reliable way to make sure your request goes to it. Once it has built a map in a chat, follow-up requests in that chat keep refining the same map. If ChatGPT ever answers in plain text instead of updating the map, @mention MindMap AI again.
