At its Dev Day on Tuesday, OpenAI presented a set of features that together aim to make ChatGPT the place where people and AI agents discover, launch and use software. While the event highlighted the company’s autonomous agents called Dots and new AI models, the announcements also outlined a broader push against the traditional app store model.
ChatGPT as an app discovery and launch surface
OpenAI says ChatGPT now has 1.2 billion weekly users. To leverage that reach, ChatGPT will start suggesting apps during conversations when it detects that a particular app could help a user complete a task. Users can then connect the suggested app and use it directly inside ChatGPT.
This shift is enabled by an expanded plugin architecture that now supports extensions. Developers can build interactive panels so users work with tools while chatting with ChatGPT, effectively bringing services that were previously accessed via the web or native apps into the ChatGPT interface.
Developers who adopt the system can create AI‑native versions of their apps via ChatGPT, in addition to offering them on the open web or mobile app stores. As more discovery happens through conversational AI, ChatGPT could become a compelling distribution channel.
"Sign in with ChatGPT" and launch partners
OpenAI introduced "Sign in with ChatGPT", which lets users bring their ChatGPT identity and existing AI allowance into third‑party apps. The company said 16 launch partners are participating in this effort, including Cognition’s Devin, Notion, Vercel, T3, OpenClaw and Dactyl, and that more partners will be added.
Demo examples: meetings and design workflows
In a Dev Day demo, OpenAI showed its own new meeting app running inside ChatGPT, surfacing upcoming calendar events. Users could ask the AI to take meeting notes and then receive a summary of follow‑up items when the meeting ends.
Other demos showed design‑focused apps, such as those from Figma and Adobe, being used inside ChatGPT to revise ongoing projects or access features that previously required separate applications.
Sharing and permissions
ChatGPT can generate lightweight web‑style pages for apps that users can share with colleagues. From these pages, coworkers can sign into the app with their own credentials and permissions, making the experience personalized for each user.
Developer review process and enterprise marketplace
OpenAI said it has improved how developers submit plugins for review: developers can now track their review status, see required fixes, request a human review, and update a plugin’s tools without re‑submitting the entire package.
The company also launched an enterprise app marketplace where partners can offer their services. At launch, more than 30 partners are listed on the OpenAI Marketplace, including Adobe, Figma, Sierra, Decagon, HubSpot, Salesforce, ServiceNow, Harvey, Legora, Palo Alto Networks, CrowdStrike and Baseten. OpenAI said eligible customers can apply part of their OpenAI commitment toward approved partner software.
Dots: autonomous agents that use connected apps
OpenAI unveiled autonomous AI agents called Dots that will perform web tasks in OpenAI’s cloud infrastructure. Each Dot has its own cloud computer and browser and can use connected apps. OpenAI said the Dots will be able to connect to an ecosystem of more than 4,000 apps.
Dots can act proactively — for example, offering help on a project or handling tasks a user forgot — but only with the user’s approval. They can perform what OpenAI calls "proactive research" in the background, using connected apps in a read‑only mode while users retain control over actions taken.
Business model caveats
OpenAI suggested this system could provide app makers another route to reach customers outside Apple’s and Google’s app stores: users might subscribe on a vendor’s website and connect that account to ChatGPT or Codex so a Dot can use it. However, OpenAI did not say these features would remove the need for separate third‑party subscriptions or charges.
Notably, the company did not announce a billing or revenue‑sharing mechanism comparable to the economic layer of traditional app stores. Instead, Tuesday’s announcements focused on building the discovery, distribution, interface and identity pieces — and a way to share a user’s existing ChatGPT AI allowance — that could underpin a new app ecosystem.
