The group of announcements presented by OpenAI at its Dev Day event points to a shift in ChatGPT from a conversational interface to a layer for discovering and running software. Instead of searching for a suitable application and then opening it, the user will see ChatGPT suggest the application within the conversation when it detects that it could help complete the task.
OpenAI says ChatGPT now has 1.2 billion weekly users, giving this interface an important position for distributing applications. Under the new vision, users can connect an application and begin using it directly inside ChatGPT, rather than necessarily navigating to a standalone website or a native application on a phone or computer.
From plugins to interactive interfaces
OpenAI is expanding the plugin architecture to support extensions, allowing developers to build interactive panels that operate during conversations. This can turn services previously used through the web or desktop and mobile applications into experiences designed to run inside ChatGPT.
The company presented examples including a meeting application capable of displaying appointments from the user’s calendar, then using artificial intelligence to record notes and produce a summary of follow-up items. The demonstrations also included tools from Figma and Adobe for making edits or using features that would normally require opening a standalone application.
Unified identity and a marketplace for companies
The Sign in with ChatGPT feature allows users to transfer their identity to external applications, while using their existing balance of artificial intelligence services in them. The list of launch partners includes 16 organizations, among them Cognition’s Devin, Notion, Vercel, T3, OpenClaw, and Dactyl, with plans to add other partners.
Applications can also be shared within the lightweight websites created by ChatGPT, allowing colleagues to sign in with their own credentials and permissions. In parallel, OpenAI announced an enterprise application marketplace with more than 30 partners at launch, including Adobe, Figma, Sierra, Decagon, HubSpot, Salesforce, ServiceNow, Harvey, Legora, Palo Alto Networks, CrowdStrike, and Baseten. The company said eligible customers can allocate part of their financial commitment with OpenAI toward purchasing approved partner software.
What changes in practice?
These steps make ChatGPT a distribution channel for applications, rather than merely a tool used by applications. OpenAI has also improved the plugin review process; developers will be able to track the review status, learn which fixes are required, request human review, and update plugin tools without restarting the entire submission process. In terms of function, this resembles the application review system known at Apple.
The shift becomes clearer with the independent artificial intelligence agents known as Dots. Each agent has a computer and a cloud browser, and can connect to linked applications and perform tasks specified by the user. OpenAI says Dots can connect to more than 4,000 applications and can also conduct “proactive research” in the background using connected applications in read-only mode.
In practice, this model shifts the starting point from the question “Which application should I use?” to the question “What task do I want to complete?” The agent may suggest the appropriate application or model instead of asking the user to search for it. OpenAI emphasizes that proactive actions take place with the user’s consent, but the source does not explain further details about the limits of these consents or the mechanisms for holding agents accountable when using multiple services.
For developers, this opens a new access channel outside Apple’s and Google’s app stores, but it ties discovery and distribution to OpenAI’s interface and review mechanisms. Users and companies, meanwhile, gain a more integrated experience, while important questions remain about permissions, privacy, and organizations’ reliance on a single platform—questions on which the material did not provide complete details.