OpenAI is turning ChatGPT into a platform for launching apps, and it wants you to forget the app store entirely. At its Dev Day on Tuesday, the company announced a suite of features that treat its chatbot as the primary way people find, launch, and use software — a strategy that cuts directly across the business model of Apple and Google.
The announcements center on two things: a new way for apps to live inside ChatGPT conversations, and a set of autonomous agents called Dots that can pick and use apps on their own. Together, they form a coherent push away from the traditional app store and toward a world where AI picks your tools and ChatGPT runs them.
ChatGPT as the App Store
The core move is simple. When ChatGPT recognizes that an app could help you complete a task, it will start suggesting that app directly in the conversation. You can then connect the app and use it right inside the chat window, without leaving to download or open anything separately.
This works because OpenAI has expanded its plugin architecture to support extensions. Developers can build interactive panels that sit alongside the conversation, letting you work with their tools while you chat. That means apps and services that you would have used through the web or a native app become something you operate directly within ChatGPT.
The company says the chatbot now has 1.2 billion weekly users. Until now, it has not fully capitalized on its potential as a discovery mechanism for finding and using apps that work with AI. OpenAI wants to fix that by making the app suggestions part of the normal flow of conversation.
In a demo at the event, OpenAI showed how its own new meeting app would work inside ChatGPT. The user could see upcoming meetings from their calendar, choose to have AI take meeting notes, and receive a summary of follow-up items when the meeting ended. Another example involved design-focused apps from Figma and Adobe, where users could work on revisions or use a particular feature without needing a separate app.
Apps can also be shared with others through the lightweight websites that ChatGPT now produces. A coworker could sign in to the app with their own credentials and permissions, personalizing the software experience to them.
Sign In With ChatGPT
OpenAI also announced a “Sign in with ChatGPT” feature that lets users bring their AI allowance with them. If you have an existing allowance — the tokens or credits that OpenAI sells for AI usage — you can use it in third-party apps that support the feature.
The company has 16 launch partners on this effort, including Cognition’s Devin, Notion, Vercel, T3, OpenClaw, and Dactyl. OpenAI says it plans to add more soon.
Dots: Agents That Pick Apps
The Dots are autonomous AI agents that navigate the web for you, executing tasks in their own cloud infrastructure. Each Dot has its own cloud computer and browser, and can use connected apps. That means you tell an AI agent what you want done, and it handles the whole workflow — finding the right app, signing in, and completing the task.
Compare this to the old model, where users had to download different apps to their computer or phone to manage a project like building a website or coordinating a meeting calendar. Now the agent does the downloading for you.
The Dots can be proactive too. They might jump in to offer help with a project or bug, or handle a task you forgot. All of it happens with the user’s approval. The agents perform what OpenAI calls “proactive research” in the background using connected apps in a read-only mode, but users keep control over the actions taken.
The Marketplace Push
OpenAI also announced a new enterprise app marketplace where partners can market their services. At launch, some 30-plus partners are offering their apps through the OpenAI Marketplace, including Adobe, Figma, Sierra, Decagon, HubSpot, Salesforce, ServiceNow, Harvey, Legora, Palo Alto Networks, CrowdStrike, and Baseten.
Eligible customers can apply part of their OpenAI commitment toward approved partner software, according to OpenAI. The marketplace is a way for app makers to reach customers outside of Apple and Google’s app stores.
Plugin Improvements
OpenAI talked about changes to how developers submit plugins for review. The company describes this as its version of Apple’s App Review process. Now developers can track their review, see what needs fixing, request a human review, and update their plugin’s tools without starting their whole submission over.
What This Means for Users
The immediate benefit is convenience. Instead of hunting for an app, downloading it, signing in, and figuring out how to use it, you get a suggestion in the middle of a conversation and click to connect. The app becomes part of the conversation itself.
There is also a privacy angle. When you share an app with a coworker through a ChatGPT-generated website, they sign in with their own credentials. That means the experience stays personalized to each user, unlike a shared app where everyone sees the same data.
The App Store Question
OpenAI has not said these features would eliminate the need for separate third-party subscriptions or other charges. The company is building the discovery, distribution, and interface pieces to counter the app store model, but it did not tease any plans on this front today.
The broader question is whether users will migrate. The incentives are there: easier access, your allowance following you, and agents that remember which apps you need. Whether that translates into fewer downloads from Apple and Google remains to be seen.
Key Facts Box
- ChatGPT weekly users: 1.2 billion
- Launch partners for Sign in with ChatGPT: 16 (Cognition’s Devin, Notion, Vercel, T3, OpenClaw, Dactyl)
- Marketplace partners at launch: 30-plus (Adobe, Figma, Sierra, Decagon, HubSpot, Salesforce, ServiceNow, Harvey, Legora, Palo Alto Networks, CrowdStrike, Baseten)
Timeline of Announcements
| Date | Announcement |
|---|---|
| Tuesday | OpenAI Dev Day |
| — | Dots autonomous agents announced |
| — | Sign in with ChatGPT announced |
| — | Plugin architecture expanded to support extensions |
| — | Enterprise app marketplace announced |
The Verdict
OpenAI is not experimenting here. It is building a real alternative to the app store model, and it is doing so with a clear plan. The pieces — app suggestions, agents, the marketplace, and the allowance portability — fit together into a coherent vision of a future where AI chat is the primary way people find and use software.
The question is whether users will follow. OpenAI has built the infrastructure. Now it needs the migration.
The company has not said when these features will be widely available. The announcements were made at Dev Day, but the full rollout schedule has not been disclosed. What is clear is the direction: OpenAI is moving fast toward a world where the app store as we know it is a relic, and ChatGPT is the place where software lives.
Source material: “OpenAI’s latest features take direct aim at the app store model,” TechCrunch.
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