OpenAI plans to turn ChatGPT into something more like an operating system, where users can run dedicated apps inside the chatbot and developers can build for an AI app store using a new SDK. Nick Turley, who oversees ChatGPT at OpenAI, described the idea in a Nick Turley interview at TechCrunch, saying the current ChatGPT interface feels like a command-line era for what the platform could become. Turley noted the product scaled to hundreds of millions of weekly users despite a fairly raw interface, and outlined a plan to shift toward an app-driven model where there are separate applications for writing, coding, shopping, education, and other tasks.
Users and developers have already seen early signs of that shift. A recent demonstration showed how users will be able to chat with apps inside ChatGPT – raw video and demos appeared online.
You can now chat with apps in ChatGPT. pic.twitter.com/T9Owi3POim
— OpenAI (@OpenAI) October 6, 2025
OpenAI has launched an app SDK and highlighted a set of initial third-party partners, including Booking.com, Expedia, Spotify, Figma, Coursera, Zillow, and Canva. In an OpenAI announcement, CEO Sam Altman said the SDK will enable a new generation of interactive, adaptive, and personalized apps that users can chat with.
Turley and Altman both acknowledged limits to what OpenAI will build directly. OpenAI will not attempt to replicate every service, such as a comprehensive music streaming platform or a global travel booking engine. Instead, ChatGPT will act as a platform that hosts third-party services, which opens up obvious opportunities for revenue sharing and new business arrangements.
Platform status raises tricky questions about how existing app stores will react. Apple currently takes a cut on many digital subscriptions and services, while other purchases remain outside its fee structure. If an app lives inside ChatGPT and then lets users buy physical or digital goods via another embedded app, regulators and platform owners will face hard calls on how to classify those transactions.
Monetization will be central to the platform push. Hosting apps creates routes to take a cut of transactions or set up commercial partnerships. Much like when mobile app stores emerged after the first iPhone, the big money might come from the marketplace around the apps rather than the core AI itself.
Regulatory friction and platform politics are likely. Apple and Google will be watching closely if apps start shifting away from their stores and into an OpenAI-hosted environment. Negotiations over fees, privacy, and platform access are bound to follow.
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