OpenAI has opened app submissions inside ChatGPT and launched an app directory that sits within the chat interface. The company announced that developers can now send their apps for review and possible publication, following its submission rules. Users can browse these apps and connect to them without leaving ChatGPT.
The company said apps add extra context to chats and allow actions to happen during a conversation. Examples shared by OpenAI range from ordering groceries to turning an outline into a slide deck or searching for a flat. These tools sit inside a chat rather than sending people to a separate service.
OpenAI also confirmed that users can find the app directory through the tools menu or a dedicated apps page. Once connected, apps can appear during chats when mentioned with the @ symbol or selected directly. The company said it is testing ways to surface helpful apps during chats based on context, usage and user preferences, and users can leave feedback.
How Does The App Directory Work For Users?
The app directory appears across iOS, Android and the web. OpenAI said the directory sorts apps into Featured, Lifestyle and Productivity sections. Users can connect to well known services such as Booking.com, Spotify and Dropbox through a few clicks and an authorisation screen.
After connection, chats can link straight to the app’s function. OpenAI said a Dropbox app can gather insights, prepare briefs and summarise reports or internal documents through chat. Once authorised, any connected app can be called using an @ mention during a conversation.
New additions sit alongside these tools. OpenAI confirmed the arrival of an Apple Music app that helps users find music, create playlists and manage libraries through chat. DoorDash also appears, letting users turn recipes, meal planning and staples into a shopping cart ready for checkout.
The company described these apps as a way to move from ideas to action inside a single conversation. It also clarified that apps previously known as connectors, such as Google Drive, now fall under the single label of apps.
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What Does This Mean For Developers And Payments?
OpenAI said developers can build apps using the Apps SDK, which is in beta. The company shared guides, open source examples and a chat focused user interface library to support this work. Developers can track review progress through the OpenAI Developer Platform.
Submissions require details such as connectivity information, testing guidance, directory descriptions and country settings. OpenAI said the first approved apps will roll out gradually in the new year. Apps that meet quality and safety rules can appear in the directory and may receive extra visibility later.
At launch, OpenAI said developers can earn money through links that send users to their own sites or native apps to finish transactions for physical goods. The company said it is exploring more payment options, including digital goods, and will share updates as it learns from usage.
Safety and privacy sit at the core of the rules. OpenAI requires strict privacy policies and limits data requests to what an app needs to function. When a user connects an app, ChatGPT shows what data may be shared and allows disconnection at any time, which ends access immediately.
OpenAI linked the app directory to Sam Altman’s earlier comments about making ChatGPT more versatile through custom bots. The company said it wants apps to feel like a natural extension of conversation and to support a growing ecosystem built around ChatGPT.
