ChatGPT has quietly taken a big step towards becoming more than just a conversational AI.
OpenAI has officially launched a built-in app store, pulling together the growing number of third-party tools that already work inside ChatGPT and opening the door for many more.
If you’ve previously used integrations like Photoshop or Kayak within ChatGPT, the idea will feel immediately familiar.
Rather than discovering plug-ins mid-conversation, everything now lives in a dedicated Apps directory, accessible from ChatGPT’s main navigation on both web and mobile. There’s light categorisation, search, and individual app pages that outline what each tool does and how it handles your data, a small but important detail as these integrations become more powerful.
Once added, apps can be invoked directly in prompts, allowing ChatGPT to pull in external context or take actions on your behalf. OpenAI says it’s specifically encouraging apps that extend conversations, rather than simply bolting on features, and all submissions still need approval before going live. In other words, this isn’t quite the Wild West of app stores, at least not yet.
Some early standouts help explain why OpenAI is pushing this model. Photoshop and Canva turn ChatGPT into a surprisingly capable creative assistant, letting you move from idea to visual output without leaving the chat. Apple Music adds a more practical spin, allowing subscribers to generate playlists and push them straight into their library, while Gmail focuses on productivity with summaries and draft replies that could genuinely save time for inbox-heavy users.
Perhaps the most interesting example, though, is AllTrails. By tapping into a massive database of hiking routes, ChatGPT becomes something closer to a personalised guide, answering questions with real-world data rather than generic suggestions.
Taken together, the new app store signals a shift in how OpenAI sees ChatGPT evolving. It’s no longer just about better answers, but about turning conversations into actions. If adoption takes off, this could be the moment ChatGPT starts to feel less like a tool you visit and more like a platform you rely on.
