OpenAI to let developers build apps that work inside ChatGPT
Increasingly OpenAI is positioning ChatGPT as your new operating system and UI - they're trying to build a trillion dollar company.
Key takeaways
- OpenAI is about to become Apple – that is to say it’s about to become a digital landlord, creating the hardware where everyone else’s apps, digital, and Artificial Intelligence (AI) ‘stuff’ lives.
- Starting Monday, users in ChatGPT will be able to access interactive applications from companies like Booking.com, Expedia, Spotify, Figma, Coursera, Zillow, and Canva.
- OpenAI made the announcement at its annual developer conference, DevDay 2025.
Cite or link to this article
Griffin, M. (2025) 'OpenAI to let developers build apps that work inside ChatGPT', 311 Institute, 30 September. Available at: https://www.311institute.com/openai-to-let-developers-build-apps-that-work-inside-chatgpt/ (Accessed: 1 October 2026).
OpenAI is about to become Apple – that is to say it’s about to become a digital landlord, creating the hardware where everyone else’s apps, digital, and Artificial Intelligence (AI) ‘stuff’ lives. They’re launching a new way for developers to build applications inside of ChatGPT.
Starting Monday, users in ChatGPT will be able to access interactive applications from companies like Booking.com, Expedia, Spotify, Figma, Coursera, Zillow, and Canva. OpenAI is also launching a preview of the Apps SDK, the developer-facing toolkit to build these apps.
OpenAI made the announcement at its annual developer conference, DevDay 2025.
“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,” said CEO Sam Altman. “[Apps inside of ChatGPT] will enable a new generation of apps that are interactive, adaptive, and personalized, that you can chat with.”
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You can now chat with apps in ChatGPT. pic.twitter.com/T9Owi3POim
OpenAI (@OpenAI) October 6, 2025
The new system is OpenAI’s latest attempt to build an ecosystem of apps around its flagship AI product, ChatGPT. The launch follows OpenAI’s previous attempts to let developers build interactive applications, such as through its GPT Store. Unlike that product, which was a separate app store, Monday’s launch puts apps directly in ChatGPT’s responses and lets users call up third-party tools in their everyday conversations. This gives developers better distribution for the apps they build and aims to make a richer experience for users in ChatGPT.
By typing the names of different apps in ChatGPT, users can draw in content from a variety of services. For example, users can say, “Figma, turn this sketch into a workable diagram” to call up the Figma app. Users can also call up the Coursera app by asking, “Coursera, can you teach me something about machine learning?”
In a demo of Zillow’s application, users could prompt ChatGPT in natural language to search for apartments in their area within a specific price range. ChatGPT then pulled up an interactive map showing options, and users could talk with ChatGPT to learn more about each one.
ChatGPT will also surface relevant apps when they could be helpful to a user. If someone asks for a playlist for a party this weekend, ChatGPT may call up the Spotify app in the conversation. In the future, OpenAI says apps like DoorDash, Instacart, Uber, and AllTrails will be available in ChatGPT as well.
OpenAI says the new system is built using the Model Context Protocol (MCP), which allows developers to connect their data sources to an AI system. ChatGPT apps can also trigger actions and render a fully interactive UI in the chatbot’s responses. Certain apps are able to display videos in ChatGPT, which will be pinned to the top of the web page and can be altered based on user requests.
If users are already subscribed to a product, they’ll be able to log in to their account directly in ChatGPT to access certain features. Altman also says OpenAI will support ways to monetize apps inside of ChatGPT in the future, including through the company’s recently launched Instant Checkout feature in ChatGPT.
Key questions around apps in ChatGPT will be privacy, and how much data third-party developers will have access to. OpenAI says developers must “collect only the minimum data they need, and be transparent about permissions.” However, it’s unclear whether developers would have access to a user’s entire conversation with ChatGPT, the past few messages, or just the prompt that summoned up the app.
It’s also unclear how ChatGPT will choose a service between competing companies, such as DoorDash and Instacart. One could imagine how companies could pay to be surfaced in ChatGPT responses, but OpenAI says it plans to prioritize the user experience above all else.
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Increasingly OpenAI is positioning ChatGPT as your new operating system and UI - they're trying to build a trillion dollar company.
About the author
Matthew Griffin Founder, 311 Institute
Matthew Griffin is a multi-award winning Futurist and expert in Disruption and Innovation, Geopolitics, Leadership, and Technology, who NASA have described as a "walking encyclopaedia of the future" and a "futurist Polymath."
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Matthew Griffin is a multi-award winning Futurist and expert in Disruption and Innovation, Geopolitics, Leadership, and Technology, who NASA have described as a "walking encyclopaedia of the future" and a "futurist Polymath." 15-time best selling author of the "Codex of the Future" series, Matthew is the Founder and Futurist in Chief of the 311 Institute, a global Futures and Deep Futures advisory firm working with royal households, world leaders, G7, G20, and G77 governments, NGOs, and multi-national mid and mega cap firms to help them explore, shape, and lead the next 50 years of business and society.
An award-winning YouTube creator with over a million followers, with an unrivalled global reach and impact, Matthew is a highly sought-after international keynote speaker, lecturer, and mentor who collaborates with global leaders through the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) and United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to shape pivotal initiatives such as the UN’s AI for Humanity program, the United Nations Conference of the Parties (UN COP), and the World Economic Forum in Davos.
As the former Global Head of Cloud, National Security, and Enterprise Sales for companies including Atos, Dell-EMC, and IBM, Matthew has a proven track record of building multi-billion dollar business units and turning failing divisions into market leaders. His ability to identify, analyse, and communicate the implications of hundreds of emerging technologies and trends is unparalleled, and his insights are trusted by many of the world’s most respected organisations, including ABB, Accenture, Adidas, AON, ARM, BCG, Centrica, Citi, Coca-Cola, Dentons, Deloitte, Dow Jones, EY, Google, KPMG, Lego, Legal & General, LinkedIn, Microsoft, PepsiCo, Qualcomm, RWE, Samsung, Siemens AG and Siemens Energy, T-Mobile, UBS, VISA, Walmart, Workday, Worldpay and many others.
Regularly featured in the global media including the AP, BBC, Bloomberg, CNBC, Discovery, Forbes, Khaleej Times, Telegraph, TIME, ViacomCBS, WIRED, and the WSJ, Matthews mission is to help organisations create a fair and sustainable future whose benefits are shared by everyone irrespective of their ability, background, or circumstances.
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Source: first published by the 311 Institute on 30 September 2025. Cite as: Griffin, M. (2025). OpenAI to let developers build apps that work inside ChatGPT. 311 Institute. https://www.311institute.com/openai-to-let-developers-build-apps-that-work-inside-chatgpt/
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