At its recent Dev Day event, OpenAI announced new features turning ChatGPT into a comprehensive platform for discovering, launching, and using apps directly within its interface, signalling a major shift away from conventional app stores.
- ChatGPT now suggests and launches apps contextually during conversations
- Expanded plugin architecture supports interactive extensions inside ChatGPT
- Enterprise marketplace includes 30+ partners offering integrated apps
What happened
OpenAI introduced a suite of new capabilities at its Dev Day focused on transforming ChatGPT into a platform where apps can be discovered, launched, and used all within the chatbot interface. The company is enabling ChatGPT to suggest relevant apps in response to user queries and allowing users to connect and interact with these apps directly during conversations.
Developers now can create interactive extensions using an expanded plugin architecture, which lets users operate fully AI-native versions of software without leaving ChatGPT. Additionally, OpenAI launched a dedicated enterprise app marketplace featuring over 30 partners, including Adobe, Figma, and Salesforce, where customers can apply their OpenAI commitments toward approved third-party software.
Why it matters
By embedding app discovery and usage inside a widely adopted AI chat interface with 1.2 billion weekly users, OpenAI is challenging the canonical app store model that typically requires users to switch contexts to install and operate software. This shift promises a more seamless and AI-augmented way to access productivity, design, and enterprise tools without leaving ChatGPT.
Moreover, OpenAI’s system of allowing users to 'Sign in with ChatGPT' creates a portable identity and usage allowance, simplifying access to multiple apps and encouraging developers to build AI-integrated versions of their services. The improvements in plugin review processes also signal a maturation of the ecosystem, promoting faster iteration and deployment of AI-enabled functionality.
What to watch next
The rollout of ChatGPT’s app discovery and interaction features will be closely watched to see how quickly developers adopt the extended plugin and extension frameworks, as well as how users respond to embedded app experiences. OpenAI’s ability to attract and retain enterprise partners in its new marketplace will also be key to scaling this new model.
Additionally, the impact of OpenAI’s autonomous AI agents, called Dots, which can proactively navigate the new app ecosystem on behalf of users, will be important to monitor. These agents could accelerate the shift away from conventional app interactions by autonomously selecting and using apps, further embedding AI as a mediator of software experiences.