OpenAI's latest update turns hub where apps coexist like Spotify and Canva. From now on, users can request playlists, generate designs, or plan trips without leaving the conversation, with a system that invokes external services from within the chat itself.
The move comes with a developer kit and new partnerships. According to the company, the foundation Weekly users exceed 800 million and the creator ecosystem exceeds 4 million, a context in which these integrations aim to turn chat into a gateway to the digital world.
What changes with the new integrations
The company maintains that it is a natural step after the expansion of generative AI, with a vision in which Access to software and data occurs within the threadIn practice, this reduces the gap between asking a question and completing the task in a specific app.
Behind this technical evolution is the Model Context Protocol (MCP), a standard that acts as a bridge between the model and connected services, maintaining context and real-time actions.
For OpenAI, the strategy also strengthens collaboration with established companies and work with third parties, while keeps users in the ChatGPT environment to start and complete everyday tasks.
How to use apps within the chat
The activation works with natural language: you can write something like ask custom list, request a social media design from Canva, or search for a hotel on Booking.com within a specific budget.
When the context suggests it, recommends the appropriate appIf you're talking about buying a home, she suggests Zillow for real estate exploration; if you're planning a vacation, she suggests Expedia or Booking.com for flights and accommodations.
These integrations can show lightweight and interactive interfaces within the chat (menus, previews, or controls) to confirm parameters or present results without leaving the conversation.
On the first use of each app, the system requests explicit permission and informs you about what data will be shared with the third-party developer. It also allows you to log in so your existing accounts work directly in the chat and offers options to delete your chat history when necessary.
Availability and first alliances
The deployment starts gradually and, initially, is available outside the European UnionOpenAI targets all ChatGPT plans (Free, Go, Plus, and Pro) and will expand markets and languages ​​over time.
Amongst the initial partners Spotify, Canva, Coursera, Figma, Booking.com, Expedia, and Zillow are included. The roadmap includes expansions with Uber, DoorDash, Instacart, OpenTable, Target, Peloton, TripAdvisor, and AllTrails, among others.
The company indicates that it works for bring these features to European users coming soon, while validating new integrations with more services and regions.
The product approach aims for you to start a task in the chat and, depending on the need, continue in the app or complete everything without leaving the window, in a continuous flow.
Apps SDK, MCP and a directory to publish
To make this ecosystem possible, OpenAI launches Apps SDK, a kit that allows you to connect APIs, design embedded experiences, and test them in development mode directly from ChatGPT.
The SDK relies on open standard, making it easier for integrations to work on platforms that adopt that model. The firm will enable a app directory with safety and quality review before publication.
OpenAI prepares pathways monetization for creators, including support for a future Agentic Commerce Protocol that will enable instant in-chat purchases.
In addition, it is presented Agent Kit to simplify the creation of AI agents: incorporating tools, performance metrics, and securely connecting to business data from a single stream.
Privacy, security and public debate
Applications must comply with clear usage and privacy policies, collect minimal data, and be transparent with permissions. OpenAI adds more granular controls so each user can decide which data categories each integration can use.
The company emphasizes that authorizations are requested on a case-by-case basis and that Connections to third parties are communicated explicitlyFor businesses and education, specific editions focused on data governance and administrative control will be available.
In the area of ​​public debate, experts warn that an environment where conversation and personal data converge requires extreme rigor in securityOpenAI claims its approach prioritizes protection and transparency.
With these pillars, the objective is for language to be the universal interface to operate services, automate flows, and connect information seamlessly, with safeguards visible to the user.
The arrival of integrated apps positions ChatGPT as a space where you can request music, design, book, or learn from a single conversation. finer-grained privacy controls, the assistant takes a leap that brings chat closer to the idea of ​​a conversational operating system, awaiting its expansion to more markets and languages.
