ChatGPT redraws the app gateway: what changes for developers in the region
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The chat interface, in OpenAI's vision, is no longer just a place to ask a question and copy the answer into another app. The company's latest offer sketches a different path: the user may discover an app within the conversation, link their account to it, and then use it from the same interface. This shift does not eliminate app stores yet, but it adds a new layer between the product and the user, where the conversation selects the tool that appears suitable for the task.
According to a TechCrunch report, the company wants to turn ChatGPT into a space where people and agents can discover and run software together. The report says the service has 1.2 billion weekly users and will suggest apps during a conversation when it identifies a need that a particular app can meet. The user can then link the app and use it inside ChatGPT instead of navigating to a separate website or app.
In-chat interface, no external linkThe expanded plugin architecture now supports extensions, allowing developers to build interactive panels where users work with product tools during a chat. This places the AI-ready version of the app alongside the usual web or mobile versions, not as a definitive replacement. The report also notes the “sign in with ChatGPT” feature, which lets users transfer their identity and AI usage quota to third-party applications.
The new channel connects to agentsIt is not limited to in-chat suggestions. The report describes Dot’s agents as capable of using connected apps while executing tasks via their own cloud computers and browsers, with the user retaining approval over actions. The material says the system links to a registry of over 4,000 apps, and proactive search runs in read-only mode for connected apps.
The company also announced an enterprise app marketplace that will launch with more than 30 partners, including Adobe, Figma and Salesforce, and a mechanism that lets qualified customers allocate part of their financial commitment with OpenAI to approved partner programs. However, the report clarifies that the company has not announced a billing or revenue-share system comparable to the economic layer of traditional app stores, nor stated that these features cancel separate service subscriptions or fees.
A practical question for developers in the Gulf, Egypt and the LevantProduct teams in the region face an early design decision: should the product remain a standalone experience only, or is it worth building an interactive interface that can run inside a conversation when the user seeks to accomplish a task? The material does not show that every team is qualified or that the channel is available in every market, so it should not be presented as a guaranteed distribution opportunity. It does show, however, that the discovery gateway may shift partly from a store that asks the user to search to a conversation that suggests the tool and links it to the work context. The value lies not in chasing a new platform, but in testing whether the product’s functions are clear and safe enough to operate within this new context.