OpenAI Turns ChatGPT Into an AI App Marketplace Challenging Traditional App Stores

OpenAI is expanding ChatGPT beyond a conversational AI tool by building a platform that lets users discover, access, and interact with software through AI-powered conversations.

The company’s latest announcements point toward a broader strategy to make ChatGPT a central destination for finding and using applications, reducing the need for users to search through traditional app stores.

ChatGPT Becomes a New Distribution Channel for Apps

ChatGPT will begin recommending apps inside conversations when it identifies that a particular service could help users complete a task. Users will be able to connect those apps and use them directly within the chatbot experience.

OpenAI is also expanding its app framework to support interactive experiences, allowing developers to create AI-native versions of their software that operate inside ChatGPT rather than requiring users to open separate websites or applications.

The company is introducing Sign in with ChatGPT, which allows users to bring their ChatGPT identity into supported third-party applications. OpenAI said launch partners include services such as Cognition’s Devin, Notion, Vercel, T3, OpenClaw, and Dactyl, with more partners expected to join.

AI Agents Could Change How Users Access Software

OpenAI’s move also connects with its push toward autonomous AI agents, which can complete tasks by interacting with connected services. Instead of users searching for individual apps, AI agents could identify and use the tools needed to complete a request.

The company demonstrated how apps could work inside ChatGPT through examples involving meeting management and creative workflows. The Meetings plugin in ChatGPT showed how users could access meeting information, use AI assistance during meetings, and receive summaries of follow-up actions.

OpenAI said its AI agents can connect with an ecosystem of more than 4,000 apps. These agents can perform proactive research using connected applications in read-only mode while keeping users in control of any actions they take.

Enterprise Apps and Developer Ecosystem

OpenAI also introduced an enterprise app marketplace where business partners can offer their services. The marketplace includes companies such as Adobe, Figma, Salesforce, ServiceNow, HubSpot, CrowdStrike, and others.

The company is also updating its developer review process, allowing developers to track submissions, address issues, request human reviews, and update their app tools without restarting the entire review process.

While OpenAI is building the discovery and distribution layers of an app ecosystem, it has not announced a billing or revenue-sharing model similar to traditional app stores. Developers may still rely on their own subscriptions and payment systems.