# Control a TV with ChatGPT: digital signage from ChatGPT dots or Codex > Canonical HTML: https://screenrig.ai/guides/control-tv-with-chatgpt Yes, ChatGPT can control a TV. Give your ChatGPT dot, or Codex in your terminal, the official screenRIG plugin and it pairs the screen, puts content on it and checks a screenshot. You need the dot or Codex, a screen running the screenRIG Player and one sentence to start. Updated November 6, 2026. ## Live card previews - [Events](https://screenrig.ai/docs/cards/events.md): What is on now, what is next and the agenda for a calendar's coming days. ## Which ChatGPT can control a TV? A chat reply on its own sets nothing up, because the plugin has to run somewhere. Two OpenAI agents run it: | ChatGPT agent | What it is | How you install screenRIG | Setup guide | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | ChatGPT dots | OpenAI's always-on agents in ChatGPT. Each dot has its own cloud computer and browser, keeps working between conversations and answers in ChatGPT, Slack or Microsoft Teams | Send one message to your dot. No terminal | [ChatGPT dots setup](https://screenrig.ai/docs/start/dots.md) | | ChatGPT Codex | OpenAI's coding agent, which runs in your own terminal | Two commands in your terminal | [ChatGPT Codex setup](https://screenrig.ai/docs/start/chatgpt.md) | You create a dot in the ChatGPT desktop app or in ChatGPT on a desktop browser. OpenAI's own [Get started with your dot](https://learn.chatgpt.com/docs/dots/getting-started) covers availability. Your ChatGPT login is separate from your screenRIG account, and your agent never needs your screenRIG password. ## How do I connect a ChatGPT dot to a TV? 1. **Send your dot this message:** ```text Install screenrig.ai using the official plugin at https://github.com/screenrig/plugin and help me set up my first screen. ``` 2. **Approve what it asks for, then ask it to confirm the plugin is ready.** Your dot works on its own cloud computer, so there is nothing to install on yours. 3. **Give it your email.** It creates your screenRIG project and emails you an invitation to the dashboard. Nothing waits on that email. 4. **Open the Player on the TV and read the code to your dot.** Install the Player from the [Downloads page](https://screenrig.ai/downloads.md), or open the web Player on any screen with a modern browser. Keep it in the foreground while you try it. 5. **Say what to show.** The dot publishes, asks the screen for a screenshot and tells you what it saw. Already have the code? Say it all at once: "Use screenrig.ai for my lobby screen. My pairing code is [code]. Create a welcome board using my events calendar. Ask me for anything else you need." ## How do I connect Codex to a TV? Run these in your terminal, not inside Codex, then start Codex: ```console codex plugin marketplace add https://github.com/screenrig/plugin.git --ref main --json codex plugin add screenrig@screenrig --json ``` Codex needs Node.js 22.23.4+, 24.22.1+ or 26.12.1+ for the plugin's command-line tool. Run `codex plugin list --json` to confirm the plugin is registered, and restart Codex if it was already running. The rest is the same as for a dot: your email, the Player's code, then what to show. [ChatGPT Codex setup](https://screenrig.ai/docs/start/chatgpt.md) has the full path. ## What can I ask a ChatGPT dot? A dot that stays on can own a screen. Ask it once, and it keeps the screen current: > **You:** Keep the lobby screen current. Put today's meetings from my calendar on it, and have a notice ready that takes over every lobby screen for 30 minutes when I say there is a fire drill. > > **Agent:** Set up. The lobby screen shows today's meetings and refreshes them when the calendar changes. The drill notice is made and waiting. Say "fire drill" and it goes on every screen tagged Lobby for 30 minutes, then each screen goes back to its schedule on its own. The lobby screen is playing now, and I checked a screenshot. The meetings here are made up. When you do say the word, this is what a recorded session on a test screen looked like. The school and its hallway screens are made up too. > **You:** Go. > > **Agent:** The notice is on every screen tagged hallway: "Shelter-in-place drill. This is a drill. Stay in your classroom and wait for your teacher's instructions." It plays ahead of the bell schedule for three minutes, and I recorded why: shelter-in-place drill. ![A hallway screen taken over by an amber notice: Shelter-in-place drill, This is a drill, stay in your classroom and wait for your teacher's instructions](https://screenrig.ai/static-resources/images/screenshots/landing/venues-schools-drill-a2e6b444.webp) *Two seconds after the word. The notice and a clock fill the screen.* The all-clear was on the screen four seconds after the word that ended the drill. [Schools](https://screenrig.ai/use-cases/schools.md) has the whole run, and [AI digital signage](https://screenrig.ai/digital-signage/ai.md) lists ten more requests to try. ## What can ChatGPT do with my screens? - **Publish.** Posters, menus, photos, video, web pages, live streams and the 200+ ready-made [apps](https://screenrig.ai/apps.md), on one screen or many. - **Schedule.** Breakfast, lunch and dinner menus, or a closing notice, each in the screen's own time. - **Take over.** One request puts a notice on every screen with a tag, for a set time up to 7 days or until you clear it. - **Check.** A screenshot of one screen or of every tagged screen, and the Player's own report that it is playing. - **Watch.** A screen offline for 60 seconds raises an event, and a dot that stays on can look into it. - **Keep a routine.** Ask for a screen that changes when its data does. A dot keeps working between conversations, so the routine runs without your computer. ## What limits should I know about? - **The Player must be open on the device that drives the screen.** A dot can publish all day, and the screen plays it only while the Player runs. - **A chat reply alone does not install the plugin.** If your dot cannot install or run it, ask what access or capability is missing, or use Codex. - **Review is yours to turn on.** With Require review for agent changes, or Propose access, each change waits for your approval in the dashboard. - **Availability and plans are OpenAI's.** Follow OpenAI's guide for what your ChatGPT account includes. ## Using a different assistant? [Claude](https://screenrig.ai/guides/digital-signage-with-claude-code.md) uses Claude Code in the terminal or the Claude app, [Gemini](https://screenrig.ai/guides/control-tv-with-gemini.md) uses Spark, and [Grok](https://screenrig.ai/guides/control-tv-with-grok.md) uses Grok Bot or Grok Build. [How can my AI agent put content on a TV?](https://screenrig.ai/guides/ai-agent-on-tv.md) covers them all, and [Developers](https://screenrig.ai/developers.md) shows the connected-app route for ChatGPT, the API and the command line. ## ChatGPT questions ### Can ChatGPT control a TV? Yes, through a ChatGPT dot or Codex. Both run the official plugin, which pairs the screen, publishes content and checks a screenshot of the screen. An ordinary ChatGPT reply, with nothing running the plugin, controls nothing. ### What is the difference between a dot and Codex? A dot lives in ChatGPT, has its own cloud computer and keeps working between conversations, so it suits a screen that must stay current. Codex runs in your terminal on your machine, so it suits a person who already works there. They install the same plugin and publish the same way. ### Do I need a terminal for ChatGPT dots? No. You send your dot a message and it installs the plugin on its own cloud computer. ### Can ChatGPT see what is on the TV? It can ask the screen for a screenshot and look at it. Publishing also waits for the Player to report the new playlist, up to two minutes, and says whether it is playing. ### Can ChatGPT run several screens? Yes. Tag the screens, and one request changes or takes over every screen with the tag. The answer reports each screen's own result. ### Does ChatGPT need my screenRIG password? No. Your agent signs in with its own credentials. Never paste passwords, invitation links or tokens into the conversation. ### Can ChatGPT read my calendar or sheet for the screen? It reads them with the access you give it, and only what is on the screen goes to the TV. Identify the source and approve only the access you want it to have. ## Related - [ChatGPT dots Digital Signage Setup](https://screenrig.ai/docs/start/dots.md): Install the official screenRIG plugin through your ChatGPT dot, connect your screenRIG account, pair a Player, and let your dot publish your first screen. - [ChatGPT Codex Digital Signage Setup](https://screenrig.ai/docs/start/chatgpt.md): Set up screenRIG in Codex: install the official plugin, connect your account, pair a Player, and publish. This guide is for Codex, not ChatGPT chat. - [How Can My AI Agent Put Content on a TV?](https://screenrig.ai/guides/ai-agent-on-tv.md): Your AI agent puts content on a TV with the official screenRIG plugin: it pairs the screen, publishes and checks it. See the steps and what you need. - [AI Digital Signage Software Run by Your Agent](https://screenrig.ai/digital-signage/ai.md): AI digital signage where your own AI agent makes the content, puts it on real TVs and checks the screen. Ten example requests and recorded timings. - [Digital Signage API for Developers](https://screenrig.ai/developers.md) ## More guides - [Chromecast with Google TV as Digital Signage](https://screenrig.ai/guides/chromecast-with-google-tv-signage.md): A Chromecast with Google TV runs the screenRIG Player from Google Play. Set it up, pair it with your AI agent, and see why an old Chromecast cannot. - [Control a TV with Gemini](https://screenrig.ai/guides/control-tv-with-gemini.md): Gemini can run digital signage through Spark, Google's task agent. Install the official screenRIG plugin, pair a TV and ask for what to show. - [Android TV Kiosk Mode: Boot to Your Signage App](https://screenrig.ai/guides/android-tv-kiosk-mode.md): Make an Android TV or Google TV start on your signage after a power cut. Three settings, all on the remote. - [Control a TV with Grok](https://screenrig.ai/guides/control-tv-with-grok.md): Grok can run digital signage through Grok Bot on your phone or Grok Build in your terminal. Install the screenRIG plugin, pair a TV and ask for content. - [All guides](https://screenrig.ai/guides.md): Put a sheet, slides, a dashboard, a website or a camera on a TV by asking your AI agent. Each guide shows what to say and what to expect. [Start free](https://screenrig.ai/docs/start.md). screenRIG is free.