OpenAI has just thrown a digital grenade into the tech world. During its DevDay event, they introduced something that could change how we use apps forever: an app store inside ChatGPT. Yes, you read that right. ChatGPT is now not just your smart companion but also your new operating system.
Do you remember when ChatGPT was just a smart conversational partner that could write texts, explain things, or answer questions? That was then. Now ChatGPT is becoming more like a digital platform where you can use apps directly through text.
Imagine this: you type “create a playlist with 80s music” and ChatGPT talks directly to Spotify to make it happen. Or “book a hotel in Berlin for next weekend” and Booking.com takes care of it without you even leaving ChatGPT. It’s like having a butler with Wi-Fi who also has ADHD but still keeps track of everything.
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A completely new playing field for developers
OpenAI has also launched an SDK, a tool for developers. This means that anyone can build their own apps that integrate into ChatGPT’s ecosystem. These apps can then be published on OpenAI’s new app platform, although they will probably avoid calling it an App Store to not upset Apple’s lawyers.
This opens up a whole new type of innovation. Instead of having to follow the strict rules of the Apple App Store or Google Play, developers can create apps that interact directly through language. Imagine apps that talk to you, understand context, and can collaborate with other apps in real time.
The silent attack on the tech giants
Apple and Google have controlled the app market with an iron fist for over a decade. They often take between fifteen and thirty percent in fees on all purchases and subscriptions. OpenAI’s move could become the first serious attempt to circumvent their monopoly without having to build an entirely new mobile platform.
By turning ChatGPT into a hub for digital services, OpenAI can create a parallel infrastructure. Instead of opening an app, you simply open ChatGPT and ask it to do what you want. Everything happens in the background.
This is like when Netflix went from renting DVDs to streaming movies, a change that first seemed small but ended up causing panic across the entire industry.
The first big names are already involved
At the launch, OpenAI revealed several collaborations with major players:
Spotify for music and playlists
Zillow for real estate
Booking.com for travel
Coursera for education
Figma for design tools
Expedia for trip planning
And more are on the way, including Uber, Peloton, Instacart, and Khan Academy. It sounds like OpenAI is building an ecosystem where you can book your taxi, order your food, get workout advice, and design your logo without even switching windows. A kind of all-in-one AI universe.
A future with great risks and opportunities
But it is not just celebration and optimism. With every technological revolution comes a series of moral panic scenarios.
Control: Who decides which apps get to be visible?
Security: How is your data protected when everything happens through conversations?
Competition: Will Apple and Google respond with their own AI app stores?
Ethics: What happens when apps start talking to each other without you knowing?
If OpenAI manages to balance innovation and responsibility this could become a milestone in how we interact with technology. But if it goes wrong, then we might get a new kind of digital dictator controlling our entire ecosystem with a friendly smile.
The new gold for developers?
For developers, this could become a real goldmine. A chance to build apps that talk, think, and collaborate without going through the old gatekeepers. For users, the apps of the future will no longer be icons you tap, but conversations you have with an AI.
And for Apple and Google, this could be the beginning of a very interesting shift in power. Personally, I rule Apple out right now, but Google has completely different advantages than OpenAI when it comes to infrastructure and the question is whether they even need to think in terms of “apps”.
