At OpenAI's recent Dev Day on September 29, 2026, the company unveiled a series of new features aimed at challenging the traditional app store ecosystem by transforming ChatGPT into a central hub for discovering, launching, and interacting with software. With ChatGPT now boasting 1.2 billion weekly users, OpenAI is leveraging this massive audience to suggest apps contextually within conversations, allowing users to seamlessly connect and operate those apps directly inside ChatGPT. This approach expands ChatGPT’s plugin architecture by supporting extensions that let developers create interactive panels, effectively bringing web and native app experiences into the chat interface.

A key development is the introduction of "Sign in with ChatGPT," enabling users to carry their AI usage allowances across third-party apps. With 16 launch partners including Cognition’s Devin, Notion, Vercel, and others, this feature is set to simplify how users manage access and personalization across services. Demonstrations included OpenAI’s own meeting application, which integrates calendar functions and AI-generated meeting notes, and collaborations with design tools like Figma and Adobe, supporting real-time project revisions within the ChatGPT environment. Additionally, ChatGPT now generates lightweight websites that facilitate app sharing and collaboration with proper credential handling for coworkers.

For developers, OpenAI has improved the plugin submission and review process, drawing parallels to Apple’s app review but with more transparency and flexibility through tracking and human review requests. OpenAI also launched an enterprise app marketplace featuring over 30 partners such as Adobe, Salesforce, HubSpot, and Palo Alto Networks. Eligible enterprise customers can apply part of their OpenAI commitments toward partner software, signaling a new channel for app marketing and distribution outside conventional app stores. This marketplace further emphasizes OpenAI’s vision of creating an alternative digital economy centered around AI-powered apps within ChatGPT.

Complementing these user and developer-facing announcements, OpenAI introduced autonomous AI assistants called Dots. These agents operate independently in the cloud, utilizing connected apps to execute user tasks proactively with permission, eliminating the traditional need for users to manually pick and install different apps. Each Dot carries its own cloud-based browser and can autonomously perform background research, handle projects, or troubleshoot issues by interfacing with an ecosystem of over 4,000 apps. This forward-looking approach signals OpenAI’s intent to redefine software interaction and distribution, gradually shifting control from app stores to AI-powered agents and platforms.