OpenAI's Vision: Transforming ChatGPT into an AI-Powered Operating System

OpenAI's Nick Turley on transforming ChatGPT into an operating system

When Nick Turley joined OpenAI in 2022 as the head of ChatGPT, he was tasked with commercializing the company's research. He has made great strides toward that goal, growing the product to 800 million weekly active users. Now, Turley wants to take an even bigger swing: transforming ChatGPT into a new type of operating system full of third-party apps. I sat down with Turley this week on the outskirts of San Francisco's Fort Mason, a former U.S. military post where OpenAI held its third annual developer conference, to discuss how he's thinking about ChatGPT's future. You can find a transcript of our conversation at the bottom of this article. To turn ChatGPT into an operating system, Turley tells me he's drawing inspiration from web browsers. Over the last decade, browsers have emerged as a new kind of operating system -- not in the literal sense like MacOS or Windows, but because they've become the main place people work on computers thanks to a variety of web applications. Turley sees ChatGPT evolving in a similar way: a platform that could change how people interact with software. OpenAI is reportedly developing a browser too. Turley doesn't confirm or deny this, but he does say browsers are "really interesting." The company is also working with Jony Ive and a team of longtime Apple designers on a family of hardware devices. Given these efforts, it's easy to see how a ChatGPT operating system full of apps could become a central component of OpenAI's consumer ecosystem. OpenAI has been chasing this idea for a while. In 2023, the company launched an array of "AI app store" efforts such as ChatGPT plugins and the GPT Store. Those products didn't exactly take off, but OpenAI seems to have a better approach this time around. The launch of apps aligns with OpenAI's desire to turn ChatGPT into an e-commerce destination. Apps from Expedia, DoorDash, and Uber could lead to more transactions in ChatGPT, something OpenAI can now facilitate and capture some of the revenue from. Having a product featured in ChatGPT could be a major source of business for both third-parties and OpenAI. This might also be OpenAI's most compelling pitch to developers yet. Third-parties can now reach ChatGPT's 800 million users during their everyday conversations. Apps are part of ChatGPT's core experience, rather than in a separate store of widgets. Developers can also build more interactive experiences in ChatGPT, beyond just chatbots connected to their company's data. However, the business of running an operating system also comes with lots of messy problems, such as how to promote certain apps over others. Turley says OpenAI isn't ruling out letting some companies pay for their apps to have priority placement in ChatGPT, but the company is figuring out how to do this without hurting the user experience. Third-party developers likely also want access to ChatGPT user data. In a set of guidelines, OpenAI says app developers must "gather only the minimum data required to perform the tool's function," but it's unclear what that means in practice. Turley says OpenAI may build out new features -- such as a partitioned memory in ChatGPT -- that could let users give fine-grained data access to developers. One standout comment from our conversation was how Turley views ChatGPT as the "delivery vehicle" for OpenAI's nonprofit mission: to develop and distribute artificial general intelligence (AGI) -- highly autonomous AI systems -- in a way that benefits humanity. Some OpenAI researchers worry that the company's consumer business could overpower its nonprofit mission. But according to Turley, ChatGPT is how OpenAI will distribute AGI to the masses. How's that for a spin? Here's my conversation with Nick Turley, Head of ChatGPT, which has been edited for clarity and brevity. My questions are in bold, his answers are not. Maxwell Zeff: How are you thinking about ChatGPT as a platform for other companies? Nick Turley: I think we're gonna look back at ChatGPT in a couple years and feel like the current product is in the command line era. It's really powerful, but it's lacking something very important, which is affordances. In the classic operating system world, that's obvious. We prefer going to Mac or Windows and opening applications, versus remembering all the commands. It's kind of bonkers to me that we've scaled the product to 800 million weekly active users with the form factor we have. This is a weird and hard to grow category, and yet it's growing like crazy. The evolution we're trying to make over the next few years is one where ChatGPT itself is more like an operating system where you can come and use applications. If you want to write, there's an app for that. If you want to code, there's an app for that. If you want to interact with goods and services, there are applications for you. But we can't build everything ourselves. We're not going to have a music streaming service, or replicate Coursera's catalog of educational materials. We're not going to get into the business that Expedia and Booking.com are in. And for that reason, it makes sense to partner. There's also a whole generation of apps that people are going to build that wouldn't have been possible previously. The Ubers of the world only exist because of the mobile platform, and I'm really excited about what those might be for ChatGPT. We also want to give developers, who have been with us since the beginning, access to ChatGPT's 800 million weekly users. If they're able to enhance ChatGPT and build real businesses on top of that, it creates more winners in the ecosystem. Where do you draw inspiration from when building ChatGPT? You can't go to one spot. I often tell job candidates they need to have first principles thinking, and if they're gonna try to run a playbook they saw at Meta or Google, you're actually gonna run out of competitors to copy. When it comes to [ChatGPT] or Sora, there's just zero precedent. So you kind of have to get your analogies from different places. I think browsers are really interesting because, in some ways, they've become the operating system in the last 10 years. How many of us actually use desktop apps? You might use Excel or PowerPoint, but most of what we do actually happens in the browser via application-like things. I also spent some time looking at the early ads for the [Apple] PowerBook. It's kind of like ChatGPT where it was this appliance that nobody quite knew everything you could do with it. The ads were literally like "It's a calculator, it's an alarm clock." So there isn't a single thing you can look at, but it behooves us to learn from history. If you just look at the last 10 years, there might not be the perfect analogous thing. You mentioned browsers and devices there. How are you thinking about expanding ChatGPT into those form factors? OpenAI is the kind of place where you dream big. One category we have covered is productivity, which is effectively ChatGPT. But there are so many other product categories to be built, and they're all going to change with AI. Entertainment is one, which is why I'm excited about Sora. Social media is another one. Obviously, hardware and access points to the Internet are interesting too. You should really think about what we're building as a family of products and applications that are tied together by your account, personalization, and identity layer. I'm really excited that we're not boxing ourselves in. Even if we were just the ChatGPT company, there would be infinite things to build, but our ambition on what we can do for people just goes way beyond that. I'm interested in hearing how you think the consumer business of OpenAI fits into the nonprofit mission. I've heard some people say the consumer business funds the mission. How do you see it? The OpenAI I joined was a research lab that might ship a demo or two. In fact, my job description at the time was framed to me as "helping commercialize OpenAI technology" -- very open ended. At that time, the product existed to bring the research to life so that people actually get it. I think that was true and still is true, as you can see with Sora. The best way to start a grounded discourse on the profoundness of a technology is to ship something. Then we moved from that framing to, okay, maybe the product is more than that. Maybe the product is actually the way we fund the mission. It became evident at some point, even before I got to OpenAI, that this is all going to be very expensive. But after ChatGPT, we started talking about it a bit differently. Our mission is to ensure that AGI benefits all of humanity, and reaches people. If you combine that with the insight that AGI is probably not this single moment in time, but rather a gradual thing, you have to think of product as the delivery vehicle of the mission. It's the way you actually benefit people in practice. If you look at what these 800 million people are doing every week, ChatGPT is helping them achieve their goals. I don't know if you saw the guy in the keynote who taught himself to code at 89. That's insane to me. I talk to ChatGPT users who help their autistic kids by modeling social interactions. I talk to people who are entirely self taught in a language based on what they do with ChatGPT. Like, that is the mission. I don't think it's fair to talk about the consumer business as a funding vehicle. Rather, it's the expression. That is one way in which OpenAI has evolved, to me at least, since I've joined. Let's dive deeper into the apps that were announced today. OpenAI has said that third-parties can only take the "minimum amount of data" necessary to run an app in ChatGPT. How are you thinking about user privacy? From day one, we're going to ask developers to disclose to users what information they're requesting. We're also only going to let [apps] go live if they are reasonable in the data that they request. We published our developer guidelines [at launch] so people won't be surprised when we reject their app because it doesn't comply with our stance on privacy. Over the next month, we want to build ways for users to give fine-grained access to developers. I think Apple has done a phenomenal job with this, where you can share data just this time, or all the time, etc. To do that well, we might need some concept of a partitioned memory in ChatGPT, which we're still thinking through. But we're really excited about the idea because you might want to keep certain conversations, like health, separate from others, such as music. Users may want to share one, but not the other, with an app. So we're going to have a lot more to share soon, because it's actually a combined research and engineering challenge to do this well. The thing that's uncompromisable for us is transparency. We want users, at all points, to understand what data might be going to a third-party, but the controls will come over time as we build them out. DoorDash and Instacart are two companies that will have apps in ChatGPT soon enough. If I want to order some snacks, how will ChatGPT know which one to go to? This is the classic question. The best way to start is you show them both. If you've used one of them before, we'll prioritize that one. If you've used both, we'll ask which one you prefer. We could get more sophisticated over time. You could imagine one of these apps being much higher quality than another. Maybe there would be reason to prioritize one over the other. We have multiple partners in the same product categories. I think the most graceful and respectful way to handle that is to serve both apps. Are you thinking about letting companies pay for their apps to have preferential spot placement in ChatGPT? This is one of the things we're hoping to do some discovery on with developers. There's this trade off. You could try to figure it all out in advance, and roll it out with the announcement, but that probably means you didn't talk to a lot of people. Or you could delay it, which means everyone's asking questions and doesn't know exactly what's going to happen, but it gives us the ability to actually engage. We chose the latter just because we know that building this ecosystem is going to be a long game. It's not going to happen on day one, and therefore it's better to be thoughtful on what sort of distribution mechanisms are and aren't fair game. At the end of the day, we want a great user experience. So if that would lead to apps [surfacing] that are irrelevant to the user, I don't think we'd like it. If this was a lever that helped us prioritize apps that are really serious because they're clearly trying to invest in exposure, it could be a good thing. We have no point of view as of today. It's certainly something that's come up with different partners.

You can now chat with third-party apps in ChatGPT - here's how

The feature supports Booking.com, Coursera, Expedia, and a few others. Submit a question or request to ChatGPT, and the AI will typically search its own database or turn to the web to find the answer. But what if you'd like to use a specific service to dig up more relevant information that you can act upon? Now, you can do just that, courtesy of OpenAI's latest third-party app integration. (Disclosure: Ziff Davis, ZDNET's parent company, filed an April 2025 lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.) Unveiled on Monday by OpenAI, the latest capability turns ChatGPT into its own app platform. By prefacing your request with the name of a supported third-party app, you can chat with it directly. ChatGPT may also suggest adding an external app to the conversation if the topic lends itself that way. The app can even spice things up with visuals you can interact with. Also: Everything OpenAI announced at DevDay 2025: Agent Kit, Apps SDK, ChatGPT, and more "The magic of this new generation of apps in ChatGPT is how they blend familiar interactive elements -- like maps, playlists and presentations -- with new ways of interacting through conversation," OpenAI said in its Monday blog post. "You can start with an outline and ask Canva to transform it into a slide deck, or take a course with Coursera and ask ChatGPT to elaborate on something in the video as you watch." The app integration is available to all ChatGPT users outside the EU on the free, Go, Plus, and Pro plans. You can access the apps through the ChatGPT website, the Windows and Mac apps, and the iOS and Android apps. Also: You can use ChatGPT to build a personalized Spotify playlist now - here's how For now, the third-party integration works with Booking.com, Canva, Coursera, Figma, Expedia, Spotify and Zillow. Later in the year, more apps are expected to hop on board, while support will arrive in the EU. To try this out, fire up the ChatGPT website, Windows or Mac app, or one of the mobile apps. The first time you try to incorporate a supported app into the conversation, you'll be asked for permission to connect. From there, you can conduct the conversation until you get all the information you need. How does this all work in actuality? Let's check it with the various supported apps. With Booking.com, you can make reservations for everything from flights to hotel rooms. Start your prompt by typing booking.com. You should see the name appear in bold with a link underneath. Enter the rest of the prompt by typing a request for a specific hotel, airline flight, car rental, or cruise. Here, I typed the follow: "Booking.com find hotels in London near the West End for the week of November 10 to 21 2025." Want more stories about AI? Sign up for Innovation, our weekly newsletter. Since this was my first time using Booking.com with ChatGPT, I was asked for permission to connect the two. I clicked Continue and then Connect to proceed. In response, Booking.com showed me three possible hotels with the names, prices, and links to reviews. I was also asked if I wanted to amend my request to focus on the lowest-priced hotels. Otherwise, I could click the link to one of the suggested hotels to book it through Booking.com. Canva can help you create and modify images for websites, presentations, documents, brochures, ads, greeting cards, and other media. To try this out, I submitted the following prompt: "Canva create a greeting card for a wife's birthday with an image of a man bursting out of a large white birthday cake." In response, the app generated a few different cards with just the right image and a birthday greeting. I could then select a specific card and save it to my Canva account to modify it or add a personal message to it. With Coursera, you can sign up for online courses to further your career or just explore new topics. Here, I entered the following prompt: "Coursera find a course in time management for writers." The first suggested course from Coursera didn't meet my request, so I asked it to try again. This time, it came up with a more general course called Time Management for Personal & Professional Productivity. From there, I could click a link to Coursera's website to enroll in the class. Figma helps you design websites, apps, and other types of digital content. At ChatGPT, I submitted the prompt: "Figma help me design a website to serve as my writing portfolio." After suggesting some details to consider, it asked me if I wanted to generate a flowchart in FigJam to visualize the site structure first or jump straight into a Figma wireframe layout for the home page. After I chose the latter option, Figma asked for some specifics, such as the name of the site, the color, a hero image, and more. I supplied the necessary information, which Figma should have used to design the home page layout. But here I ran into a hiccup. To get started, I already needed a project file in Figma itself to share in ChatGPT. I tried doing this, but couldn't get the process to work correctly. So this one was a bust. Another site for travel and hotel arrangements, Expedia is a popular one among travelers. Here, I submitted the following prompt at ChatGPT: "Expedia find one-way flights with American Airlines from JFK to San Francisco for November 15." In response, Expedia showed me several possible flights, any of which I could click to book directly on the website. Otherwise, I could add more details to my request by specifying non-stop flights only or basic economy seats only. I could also ask that the list be sorted or filtered by certain criteria. With Spotify as a popular music streamer, I asked ChatGPT to use Spotify to give me a list of the top ten greatest jazz songs from the 20th century. I was told that the ability to create playlists and make advanced requests is available only with Spotify Premium. (I have a free Spotify account). But the app still provided several lists, any of which I could select to add them as playlists to listen to in Spotify. Finally, I tried using Zillow to dig up real estate listings. Here, I asked it to find two-bedroom condos for sale in New York City on the East Side near Central Park. In response, the app located a host of possible homes with price tags and locations shown on a map. Clicking a specific listing then took me to its page on Zillow where I could learn more about it. Overall, ChatGPT's app integration performed relatively well, though it dropped the ball with certain apps and requests. Some tasks require an actual account with the third-party website, while others won't work unless you start on the website itself. But as a first attempt, this seems like a promising way to narrow your results to work with a specific app.

ChatGPT now lets you 'chat with' other apps like Spotify and Zillow

The list of supported apps is still small, but OpenAI expects it to grow by the end of this year. It recently became possible to shop directly within ChatGPT, and now OpenAI has announced via blog post that it has further upgraded the AI chatbot's integration with external services. ChatGPT can now chat with other apps, but only in English for now. In other words, ChatGPT will now be able to ask other apps to do things on your behalf, such as booking a suitable hotel room or creating a playlist for that upcoming weekend party. You'll be able to direct yourself to specific apps by mentioning them in the chat, but ChatGPT will also be able to suggest suitable apps for your requests. For now, ChatGPT only supports external communication with these apps: Booking.com, Canva, Coursera, Expedia, Figma, Spotify, and Zillow. However, OpenAI has released the development tools for app integration, and the AI chatbot will support more apps later this year, including Trip Advisor, Uber, and Khan Academy. The new feature will initially not be available in the EU, but OpenAI says it expects to launch the feature there soon.

Kiss goodbye to your smartphone OS, ChatGPT wants to become an operating system complete with an AI app store

Given AI is meant to change everything, it's not exactly a surprise to learn that it's going to upend operating systems, too. At least, that's what OpenAI has planned for ChatGPT. In a new interview, OpenAI's ChatGPT boss Nick Turley says he wants to make the chatbot "more like an operating system" over the next few years. So, what, exactly does this mean? For starters, Turley thinks the current iteration of ChatGPT will eventually be seen as something akin to the command-line era for conventional operating systems. Indeed, he implies it's actually surprising the chatbot has been as successful as it has given how arcane the current interface is. "It's kind of bonkers to me that we've scaled the product to 800 million weekly active users with the form factor we have," he explains. "The evolution we're trying to make over the next few years," he goes on, "is one where ChatGPT itself is more like an operating system where you can come and use applications. If you want to write, there's an app for that. If you want to code, there's an app for that. If you want to interact with goods and services, there are applications for you." While OpenAI obviously makes bold claims about the capabilities of ChatGPT, Turley also concedes, "we can't build everything ourselves. We're not going to have a music streaming service, or replicate Coursera's catalog of educational materials. We're not going to get into the business that Expedia and Booking.com are in." Immediately, you sense the direction this is going. Just as Google and Apple don't offer all of those services, what they can do is provide a platform for apps of all kinds and then, hopefully, take a cut of at least some of the various revenue streams. Clearly, this fits into the remit Turley was given when he joined OpenAI, which was to help "commercialize OpenAI technology" in very open ended terms. To that end, OpenAI has announced an app SDK and a number of initial third-party apps, including ooking.com, Expedia, Spotify, Figma, Coursera, Zillow, and Canva. Announcing the move earlier this week, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said, "we want ChatGPT to be a great way for people to make progress, to be more productive, more inventive, to learn faster, to do whatever they're trying to do in their lives better," and that the new SDK, "will enable a new generation of apps that are interactive, adaptive, and personalized, that you can chat with." Of course, one way in which this doesn't ostensibly gel with the broader Open AI sales pitch and its pretensions around AGI or artificial general intelligence is that you'd need an SDK or similar tools to help developers build apps for ChatGPT in the first place. Shouldn't ChatGPT be clever enough to do whatever these apps are doing, all by itself? The obvious answer to that, is that OpenAI may find it harder to take a cut of all those juicy revenue streams if ChatGPT is "merely" acting as an agent for users. By building third party apps into the chatbot directly, suddenly there are opportunities to negotiate deals. "Come and join us in the AI revolution," the sales pitch to third party app providers presumably goes, "we're at 800 million users already, we're going to rule the world and if you want even the slightest chance of staying relevant, you need to be with us." Well, maybe something a bit friendlier than that, but you get the idea. Put another way, when Apple first launched the iPhone, it wasn't obvious that the App Store was going to be the big money spinner. Likewise, when ChatGPT first exploded onto our PCs and phones, taking a cut of app revenue wasn't the first thing that sprung to mind when considering how this revolutionary new tech was likely to be monitised. But then if ChatGPT really is to become much more OS-like, it probably makes sense if the chatbot's revenue streams started looking like an OS, too. Of course, what the likes of Google and Apple will make of all this is another matter. Apple, for instance, doesn't currently take a cut of purely offline services, like ride sharing or hotels. But it does take a cut of the fees for digital services like game streaming or online dating. Where things could get complicated is using a third party chatbot app on your phone, like ChatGPT, and to then use yet another app effectively embedded within that app to order or subscribe to either physical or digital products and services. How would that be defined and viewed by Apple and indeed Google? At the very least they must be pretty terrified at the prospect of apps moving off their platform and on to OpenAI's. So, this is very likely a subject on which we'll hear plenty more in the coming years.

OpenAI plans to transform ChatGPT into an operating system for third-party apps

OpenAI is reimagining ChatGPT as an AI operating system hosting third-party apps, aiming to move beyond the text box era and create a platform where users can write, code, and shop -- all in one place. Nick Turley, the head of ChatGPT, is leading the effort to transform the AI product into a new type of operating system populated with third-party applications. The plan, which aims to commercialize OpenAI's research, was detailed during an interview at the company's annual developer conference in San Francisco. The core of the strategy is to evolve ChatGPT beyond its current conversational text box, which Turley compares to a "command-line era" of computing. He argues that while powerful, the current product lacks the intuitive visual cues and interactive elements -- known as "affordances" -- that make modern software easy to use. "I think we're gonna look back at ChatGPT in a couple years and feel like the current product is in the command line era. It's really powerful, but it's lacking something very important, which is affordances." Turley expressed surprise that the product has scaled to 800 million weekly active users with its current form factor, calling it a "weird and hard way to grow a category." The plan is to transition ChatGPT into a platform where users can seamlessly access a variety of dedicated applications for specific tasks. "The evolution we're trying to make over the next few years is one where ChatGPT itself is more like an operating system where you can come and use applications. If you want to write, there's an app for that. If you want to code, there's an app for that." This model will rely on partnerships with external companies, as OpenAI does not intend to develop services in every category. Turley specified that OpenAI will not build its own music streaming service or replicate the educational catalogs of platforms like Coursera. In developing this vision, Turley's team is drawing inspiration from multiple sources, including the evolution of web browsers, which he notes have effectively become the primary operating system for many users. The team is also studying the history of other transformative technologies, like the Apple PowerBook from the 1990s, which was a versatile tool whose full range of capabilities was not immediately apparent. This OS concept is part of a broader ecosystem of products that OpenAI is exploring, which reportedly includes a web browser and a family of hardware devices being developed with former Apple designer Jony Ive. This app-centric strategy follows previous attempts by OpenAI to create an AI application marketplace, such as ChatGPT plugins and the GPT Store, which did not gain significant traction. The new approach aims to be more integrated, making apps part of the core ChatGPT experience rather than siloing them in a separate store. This integration is also central to OpenAI's goal of establishing ChatGPT as an e-commerce platform. By including apps from companies like Expedia, DoorDash, and Uber, the company expects to drive transactions directly within the platform. For developers, this revised strategy offers direct access to ChatGPT's 800 million weekly users in a contextually relevant way. The goal is to empower developers to build sustainable businesses on the platform, creating a new generation of applications uniquely enabled by AI, similar to how the mobile platform gave rise to services like Uber. Turley also explained that the consumer product is no longer viewed merely as a way to fund the company's research. Instead, it is seen as the primary vehicle for delivering on OpenAI's mission to "ensure that AGI benefits all of humanity." He argued that because artificial general intelligence will likely emerge gradually, the product is the practical means by which those benefits are delivered to the public. With the introduction of third-party apps, user privacy is a critical consideration. OpenAI's policy will require developers to take only the "minimum amount of data" necessary for an app to function. Turley also mentioned the technical challenge of creating a "partitioned memory" within ChatGPT, which would allow users to segregate different types of conversations and control which parts of their data an app can access. When asked how ChatGPT would handle multiple apps in the same category, such as DoorDash and Instacart, Turley described a tiered approach. The system will initially show both options, then use personalization based on a user's past activity or direct preference to prioritize one over the other. The possibility of companies paying for preferential placement of their apps is a topic under consideration, but OpenAI has no established policy on the matter. The company has chosen to engage in a "discovery" process with developers first. Turley stated that the ultimate criterion for any such system would be the user experience, expressing skepticism about any model that would surface irrelevant apps.

ChatGPT gets app store, OpenAI takes on Apple and Google in bid to create new platform

TL;DR: OpenAI is integrating native apps into ChatGPT, enabling users to launch and interact with apps like Coursera, Canva, and Zillow directly within the chat interface. This new SDK fosters a seamless ecosystem, enhancing user experience and monetization opportunities while positioning ChatGPT as a competitive app platform. ChatGPT users will soon be able to launch apps without leaving the prompt window, effectively turning the AI model into a budding ecosystem. OpenAI is bringing native app integration to ChatGPT. The new feature was demoed at OpenAI's DevDay 2025, showing how the apps will work within ChatGPT in real time. Users query the app directly--in this case, Coursera--and the app responds, even going so far as to automatically pin video content to the top of the screen. It's all made possible by OpenAI's new apps software development kit (SDK), which allows ChatGPT to directly communicate with the apps. Essentially, ChatGPT is a kind of interpreter and fetcher of information that's provided directly from the app, all within the context of user queries. OpenAI showed off three apps working directly in ChatGPT, Coursera, Canva, and Zillow. Other apps that were confirmed include Booking.com, Expedia, Figma, and Spotify. All of these apps are working within ChatGPT today. The idea is to create an environment where users don't have to leave ChatGPT. This new app store is a bid to take on Google and Apple while OpenAI creates a new platform. Monetization is coming, too; ChatGPT has over 800 million monthly active users. Other app partners include: * Alltrails * Doordash * Khan Academy * Instacart * Peloton * OpenTable * Target * The Fork * TripAdvisor * Thumbtack * Uber OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said this about ChatGPT's new apps infrastructure: "This is just the beginning. We're going to roll out more apps from more partners in the weeks ahead. For developers, the apps SDK is in preview to start developing today. The goal is to get this in your hands early, hear your feedback, and build it together with you. And later this year, developers will be able to submit apps for review and publication. "We'll also release a directory that users can browse in addition to discovery and conversation. Any apps that meet our guidelines will be eligible to be listed. Apps that meet higher standards for design and functionality will be featured more prominently, including in the directory and the apps suggested in conversations."

ChatGPT's new app integrations will change how you use it

ChatGPT is great for making plans, but more often than not, you still have to juggle multiple apps to get things done. There are ChatGPT tricks that feel too good to be hidden, but OpenAI has just announced a new feature that's going to change how you use the chatbot. OpenAI's flagship chatbot is now getting a much deeper integration with third-party apps. These apps fit naturally into your conversations with the chatbot, respond to natural language, and come with interfaces you can use right in the chat. Apps now live inside ChatGPT You can launch and use your favorite tools without ever leaving the chat OpenAI's announcement brings a new generation of apps you can chat with, along with tools for developers to build them. Instead of telling you to look for specific music on Spotify or find real estate on Zillow, ChatGPT can now pull these apps directly into the conversations. For example, if you ask ChatGPT to create a Spotify playlist for a house party, ChatGPT can now pull Spotify right in the chat window with all the music in one place. If you're planning a trip and ask ChatGPT to find hotels, Expedia or Booking.com opens up in chat and lets you browse your options without ever leaving the ChatGPT app. At the time of writing, eight major apps are supported, including Booking.com, Canva, Coursera, Figma, Expedia, Spotify, and Zillow. More partners, such as Uber, DoorDash, Instacart, and Target, are expected to join soon. Using these apps isn't difficult either. When you ask ChatGPT to do a task it has an app for, it suggests you use it. If you click the app button, you're asked to log in and connect the app to ChatGPT, and that's it. The app starts appearing within your ChatGPT conversations. If you want to use a specific app, start your prompt by mentioning the name of the app itself. This could well be the end of app-switching chaos as we know it. So far, ChatGPT could only suggest what actions you can take on specific apps. It can tell you what music you can play, what property prices you can expect, what flights you should book, and so on. Armed with this information, you'd usually have to jump out of the ChatGPT app or browser tab and head over to the respective apps or websites to get the task done. With this level of app integration, everything now happens in one ChatGPT chat window. It massively shrinks the gap between what the AI suggests and real-world tasks. There are ChatGPT features that make it 10x more useful, but this single feature outshines them all. This functionality is powered by OpenAI's new Apps SDK. The SDK is an open standard built on the Model Context Protocol (MCP), using which AI apps like ChatGPT can connect to data sources, tools, and workflows to access information and perform tasks. These aren't embedded links that take you to an app -- these are fully interactive apps that respond to natural language and display rich interface elements like maps, playlists, booking forms, and more. Another benefit of this new feature is software discovery. Instead of remembering which app does what, ChatGPT now suggests the right app for the task. It's a personal assistant that automatically picks the best tool for the job and saves you the hassle of comparing apps to figure out which one is the best. Planning travel? Expedia gets pulled into your chat. Need a presentation? Canva is ready to go at a moment's notice. As the number of supported apps increases, ChatGPT will have a massive repository of tools it can use for specific tasks, highlighting the app's strength and saving you time in the process. Why this changes everything ChatGPT isn't just talking anymore -- it's actually doing your tasks. For starters, this is going to be a massive productivity boost. My usual ChatGPT workflow has the traditional sequence of ChatGPT suggesting something, me researching for accuracy, then switching apps, and finally carrying out the task. Now, everything flows in the same conversations. You can ask ChatGPT to carry out multiple complex tasks and get them done without switching apps or browser tabs. Businesses would also benefit from this. Instead of training employees on multiple interfaces, entire tasks can now be compressed into individual prompts with a few variables that change as per the situation. It would significantly reduce onboarding time and increase tool usage. With ChatGPT also finding the best tool for the job, the confusion of finding a tool also goes into the bin. OpenAI has essentially created a new app ecosystem. The Apps SDK gives developers direct access to ChatGPT's entire user base -- a distribution that individual developers or early-stage startups can only dream of. Additionally, while app discovery has been a challenge on traditional app stores, ChatGPT automatically pulls your app when it's the most relevant. This puts apps that do specific tasks well in front of users who are more likely to use them. However, these implications can extend well beyond convenience. When AI becomes the interface layer for all software interactions, as OpenAI hopes, it changes how we discover, learn, and use digital tools. It increases dependence on AI tools massively, which may not be the best way to do a job. If ChatGPT's app integrations take off, we could be witnessing early stages of what could be a major platform shift. We might move from a more app-centric to conversation-centric workflows where we just tell the AI what to do and it figures out the rest. Needless to say, this comes with some concerns. Some apps will work better than others, meaning the app discovery feature will quickly get riddled. If two apps do the same task, we're asking the AI to choose one over the other. This means the developers now have an entirely different set of problems to worry about to ensure their app gets picked by the AI and not actual human beings. ChatGPT can make tough decisions for you, but asking it to pick a specific tool for a job has the potential to change app design in the future. Then, of course, there are the privacy and security concerns around connecting multiple services through one AI interface. It would mean putting even more of your personal data and app interactions through the chatbot, meaning the company behind the tool can potentially collect a lot more behavioral data and usage patterns on its users. OpenAI claims that its policies require apps to follow usage policies, be appropriate for all audiences, and include clear privacy policies. The apps should also "collect only the minimum data they need, and be transparent about permissions." More personalized controls to decide what specific data categories an app can use are coming in the future, but access to data and its collection are bound to go up. ChatGPT just leveled up From playlists to presentations, it's turning into the ultimate sidekick Not everyone wants to manage their entire digital life through a single conversation window, including me. However, the trajectory is clear. We're moving towards a world where AI doesn't just answer your questions, it does your tasks for you, using the same tools you would have. The app integrations suggest a future where switching between apps might be obsolete. For now, the feature is available to ChatGPT users except those in the EU due to regulatory restrictions. But with more apps and broader availability on the horizon, it's about time you get ready to change how you use ChatGPT, and how it works for you.

ChatGPT App Integrations Redefine Productivity

OpenAI's latest update introduces seamless integration of popular apps like Spotify, Canva, Figma, and more directly inside ChatGPT, enabling users to accomplish creative and work tasks within a single AI-powered chat interface. Early adopters, especially Pro users, gain a cross-platform digital assistant that designs, curates music, manages files, and collaborates without switching tabs. This marks a new era where conversations unlock productivity, and developers can extend ChatGPT's power with custom-built apps. ChatGPT has been revolutionised through a comprehensive set of integrations with a best-in-class suite of apps, transforming how users interact with AI for work and creativity. It's not merely an incremental step but a breakthrough moment that makes ChatGPT a cross-platform centre for productivity and creativity, eroding the distinction between conversation, action, and app management. With the new rollout, users of ChatGPT can now interact with and manage multiple services such as Spotify, Canva, Figma, Zapier, Slack, and Google Drive natively in the chat experience. Just think of asking ChatGPT to make a social media template on Canva, to build a collaborative design on Figma in an instant, or to get a playlist on Spotify based on your mood. Each action can occur within one conversation, removing the drag of context switching and app overload. For example, Spotify listeners can have ChatGPT create or adjust playlists, suggest music for a particular mood, or even find new artists. Canva enthusiasts are enabled to create presentations, marketing visuals, or social media posts with nothing but simple text commands. Figma users get to make iterative changes to interface designs, come up with fresh concepts, or work on projects without exiting the chat. This unification radically alters the AI-user dynamic by positioning ChatGPT as a smart conductor of digital workflows. Rather than being constrained to code or chat, it conducts workflows across multiple platforms with one request. Users no longer have to recall menu sequences or suffer from incessant alt-tabbing; they merely ask, and ChatGPT does the work. For content creatives, marketers, designers, or anyone working on intricate workflows, this release equates to quicker ideation and a seamless feedback loop. It's like having a virtual colleague familiar with all productivity software who will always assist you, accessible from any device. These integrations are currently being rolled out mainly to users of ChatGPT Pro, which gets early access to advanced features and the most recent GPT-5 model. Users merely enable preferred apps from the ChatGPT interface, assign required permissions, and can begin leaving complex tasks to conversational language. OpenAI has indicated plans to expand availability gradually over time, hoping to add more apps and offer wider user tiers in the near future. OpenAI's vision stretches beyond user convenience. The introduction of the new Apps SDK allows developers to design, build, and launch their own conversational apps that integrate natively with ChatGPT. This SDK, based on the Model Context Protocol (MCP), lets developers define both the logic and interactive UI of an app, making it discoverable and usable in natural language conversation. Through the opening of this platform, OpenAI hints at a huge universe of bespoke tools ranging from task automation to expert research tools that may be accessible to anyone conversing with ChatGPT before long. Programmers also stand to gain the motivation towards future monetization, given that OpenAI has pledged to look into app-based commerce within the chat itself, possibly revolutionizing the way digital services are found and delivered. The sorcery is the integration of conversational AI with actual app capability. For example, if one is talking about a house search, ChatGPT can ask to explore homes with Zillow, employing an interactive map within the chat. Ideation for presentations or collaborative design can easily go from idea to implementation, all facilitated by the chatbot. This provides an experience in which digital productivity is contextual and dynamic: applications come forward as offered in response to user needs, and the AI brokers data sharing and permissions securely and transparently. OpenAI requires all apps within ChatGPT to adhere to its safe use and privacy policies, to be open about what data it shares, and to provide users with granular control. When a user installs an app for the first time, explicit prompts describe permissions, and upcoming updates will include even more control over data usage. In the future, OpenAI will also bring integration of apps to Business, Enterprise, and educational users, and next release a complete directory for installing and browsing apps from right within ChatGPT. With ongoing developer involvement and an influx of new partners, the platform is transforming into an open, smart, and extensible assistant. ChatGPT's revolution ushers in a new model of digital productivity where work, imagination, and conversation blur seamlessly, and limitation is the sole boundary. With more apps entering the fold, users and developers alike are at the cusp of an age in which smart, cross-platform collaboration is the rule, rather than the exception. Also Read: The Complete Content Creator's Kit for 2025: 7 AI Tools You Won't Want to Miss 10 Best AI Content Writing Tools to Supercharge Your Productivity in 2025 7 Life-Changing AI Tools All Students Must Use to Maximize Productivity

New ChatGPT App Store : OpenAI's App Store Moment Has Arrived

What if the way we interact with technology was about to change forever? With the rise of ChatGPT's app ecosystem, we may be witnessing the dawn of a new digital era, one that feels as innovative as the launch of the Apple App Store in 2008. Back then, the App Store didn't just introduce a marketplace; it redefined how we used our phones, turning them into indispensable tools for work, creativity, and play. Similarly, ChatGPT is no longer just a conversational AI, it's evolving into a dynamic platform where apps like Spotify, Zillow, and Canva seamlessly integrate, offering users an entirely new way to engage with services. This isn't just an upgrade; it's a paradigm shift in how we think about AI and its role in our daily lives. In this perspective, Matt Maher explore how ChatGPT's transformation into a comprehensive app ecosystem is reshaping the digital landscape. From its potential to streamline workflows for businesses to its ability to deliver personalized, on-demand solutions for individuals, this shift promises to unlock unprecedented opportunities for developers, users, and enterprises alike. But what does this mean for the future of digital interaction? And how might this app-driven economy redefine industries like education, real estate, and entertainment? As we delve deeper, you'll discover why ChatGPT's "App Store moment" is more than just a milestone, it's a glimpse into the future of technology itself. ChatGPT's transformation into a platform with app integrations represents a pivotal shift in its capabilities. No longer confined to generating conversational responses, it now serves as a foundation for developers to build applications that interact directly with users. This evolution establishes ChatGPT as a comprehensive ecosystem where individuals and businesses can access tailored solutions for a wide range of needs. By integrating popular apps such as Spotify, Canva, and Zillow, ChatGPT demonstrates its ability to cater to diverse user demands. Whether users are seeking productivity tools, entertainment options, or specialized services, the platform offers flexibility through both inline interactions and full-screen experiences. This adaptability ensures that ChatGPT remains a versatile tool for personal, professional, and creative use cases. For developers, ChatGPT's app ecosystem presents a wealth of opportunities to innovate and reach a global audience. OpenAI has introduced a robust Software Development Kit (SDK) that simplifies the process of creating and deploying applications within the ChatGPT environment. This SDK provides essential tools for integrating existing services or designing entirely new solutions, allowing developers to contribute to the ecosystem with ease. The app submission process emphasizes both quality and security, making sure a high standard of user experience. By using ChatGPT's extensive user base, developers gain access to unparalleled visibility and engagement. This ecosystem fosters innovation by allowing developers to create applications that address real-world challenges while reaching users on a global scale. The platform's developer-friendly approach encourages creativity and collaboration, driving the growth of a vibrant app marketplace. Here are additional guides from our expansive article library that you may find useful on ChatGPT 5 integrations. The integration of apps within ChatGPT enhances its interactivity, allowing users to access a variety of services without leaving the platform. This seamless functionality supports both casual and complex interactions, making ChatGPT a valuable tool for a wide range of scenarios. For example: These examples illustrate the platform's ability to support both inline interactions, where tasks are completed within the conversation, and full-screen experiences that offer more immersive functionality. This dual approach ensures that ChatGPT can accommodate everything from simple queries to intricate workflows, enhancing its utility for both individual and enterprise users. ChatGPT's app ecosystem extends beyond individual users, offering significant potential for enterprise applications. Businesses can develop custom apps to streamline workflows, improve productivity, and provide employees with secure access to proprietary tools and information. For instance, a company might create an app to manage internal databases, automate routine tasks, or assist customer support directly within the ChatGPT interface. By consolidating multiple services into a single platform, enterprises can reduce operational inefficiencies and enhance user experiences. This capability positions ChatGPT as a powerful tool for business operations, offering solutions that are both scalable and user-friendly. The platform's flexibility allows organizations to tailor applications to their specific needs, making sure that ChatGPT remains a valuable asset in achieving business objectives. Currently, ChatGPT apps are available to both free and paid users in the United States, with plans to expand to other regions, including the European Union and the United Kingdom. This phased rollout reflects OpenAI's commitment to making sure compliance with regional regulations and addressing security concerns, particularly for enterprise and educational users. OpenAI's focus on accessibility underscores its dedication to creating a globally inclusive platform. By prioritizing regional needs and security, ChatGPT aims to enable users worldwide to benefit from its app ecosystem. This approach not only fosters a connected digital economy but also ensures that the platform remains adaptable to the diverse requirements of its global user base. The introduction of ChatGPT apps marks a significant turning point in the evolution of digital interactions. By allowing businesses to integrate their services directly into the platform, ChatGPT is driving the emergence of an app-driven economy. This development has the potential to transform industries such as retail, real estate, education, and entertainment, creating new opportunities for growth and innovation. Developers and businesses now have the chance to create solutions that enhance user engagement and drive economic progress. The parallels to the Apple App Store's launch highlight the fantastic potential of this ecosystem, emphasizing its ability to reshape how users interact with technology. As the platform continues to evolve, it is poised to become a cornerstone of the digital economy, fostering collaboration and innovation on a global scale. The future of ChatGPT's app ecosystem is filled with potential, driven by the creativity and ingenuity of developers worldwide. As the SDK continues to empower developers, the platform is expected to see a steady influx of innovative applications that address a wide range of user needs. The app submission process ensures that these solutions meet high standards of quality and security, maintaining the platform's reputation as a trusted digital hub. As the ecosystem matures, ChatGPT is likely to become a central hub for digital interactions, offering users a unified platform for communication, productivity, and entertainment. This evolution highlights the importance of fostering collaboration among developers, businesses, and users, creating an environment where innovation can thrive. With its growing capabilities and expanding reach, ChatGPT is set to redefine the possibilities of digital interaction, shaping the future of technology in profound and meaningful ways.

New ChatGPT 5 Feature Enables Spotify, Canva, Zillow & More All in Inside ChatGPT App

What if your favorite apps, Spotify, Canva, Zillow, weren't just tools you opened separately but lived directly within your AI assistant? Imagine designing a presentation, curating a playlist, or planning your next vacation, all without switching tabs or juggling multiple platforms. That's no longer a futuristic fantasy. ChatGPT has just undergone a new transformation, evolving from a conversational AI into a full-fledged app platform. By integrating third-party applications directly into its interface, ChatGPT is redefining how we interact with technology, making workflows smoother, creativity more accessible, and everyday tasks astonishingly seamless. This isn't just an upgrade; it's a bold reimagining of what AI can do for you. In this overview of the new feature, Skill Leap AI explore how ChatGPT's new app ecosystem is reshaping the digital landscape. From streamlined productivity tools to creative design platforms and even real estate search engines, the possibilities are as diverse as they are exciting. You'll discover how these integrations work, the unique benefits they bring, and why this shift is more than just a convenience, it's a glimpse into the future of AI-powered multitasking. Whether you're a professional looking to optimize your workflow or simply curious about what's next in AI innovation, this evolution of ChatGPT promises to change the way you approach your digital life. It's not just about saving time; it's about unlocking potential. The integration of third-party apps into ChatGPT introduces a streamlined way to access diverse tools without leaving the platform. By simply entering the app name and a command, you can perform tasks such as designing graphics, planning trips, or managing playlists. This centralized approach mirrors the fantastic impact of app stores on mobile devices, creating a unified hub for a wide range of functionalities. This feature is designed to cater to a broad spectrum of users. Whether you are a professional managing complex workflows, a student juggling academic tasks, or a casual user seeking convenience, the integration simplifies processes and saves time. By reducing the need to switch between multiple platforms, ChatGPT enhances efficiency and ensures a smoother user experience. The ChatGPT app ecosystem already includes several high-profile applications, each tailored to address specific needs. These integrations are designed to improve productivity, creativity, and convenience. Here's a closer look at some of the standout apps currently available: These integrations are not only practical but also intuitive, reducing the friction of switching between platforms and allowing you to focus on your goals. Expand your understanding of ChatGPT 5 with additional resources from our extensive library of articles. For developers, ChatGPT's transformation into an app platform presents a wealth of opportunities. The introduction of a Software Development Kit (SDK) allows you to create and submit custom apps tailored to specific industries or user needs. This opens the door to integrating external tools, data sources, and advanced features into ChatGPT, allowing the development of highly specialized solutions. Additionally, developers can design custom agents capable of handling complex tasks, further expanding the platform's capabilities. This collaborative ecosystem fosters innovation and provides developers with opportunities for monetization. By creating unique tools and services, developers can not only contribute to the platform's growth but also generate revenue from their creations. The app ecosystem within ChatGPT is poised for significant growth, with several exciting integrations already in development. Upcoming additions aim to further enhance the platform's utility and convenience. Here are some of the integrations expected to launch soon: In addition to these integrations, monetization features are under development. These include a commerce protocol for instant checkouts and other transactional capabilities, making ChatGPT a one-stop solution for both personal and business needs. These advancements aim to enhance the platform's value, making sure it remains a versatile and indispensable tool for users. Currently, the app integration features are available to all ChatGPT users, including those with free, Plus, and Pro accounts. Plans are underway to extend these capabilities to business and enterprise accounts, making sure that users across various subscription tiers can benefit from the platform's expanded functionality. This inclusive approach underscores ChatGPT's commitment to accessibility and user satisfaction. The evolution of ChatGPT into an app platform marks a pivotal moment in the advancement of AI technology. By integrating third-party applications and empowering developers to create custom tools, ChatGPT is positioning itself as a versatile and indispensable resource. Whether you are managing daily tasks, exploring creative projects, or building innovative solutions, this update ensures that ChatGPT remains at the forefront of AI-driven functionality.