OpenAI integrates AI apps into ChatGPT with new SDK

OpenAI is turning ChatGPT into a gateway to other applications. From now on, you can ask it to use Spotify, Canva, Zillow or Booking.com within the same conversation, without switching windows or learning how to use each service from scratch.

These apps understand instructions written in natural language and can display interactive elements inside the chat. For example, you can ask Spotify for a party playlist, explore Zillow homes on a map or turn an outline into a Canva presentation.

ChatGPT does more than just answer

Apps can appear in two ways: because you mention them by name or because ChatGPT detects that they could help you at that moment. If you talk about buying a home, for example, it may suggest Zillow to search for properties based on your budget.

The idea is to combine a conversation with tools you already know. You can start with a general request, get help from ChatGPT and then interact with a map, playlist, presentation or any other integrated interface.

When you connect an app for the first time, ChatGPT tells you what data could be shared with the service. OpenAI also requires apps to have a clear privacy policy, collect only the information they need and explain the permissions they request.

Which apps are available

The initial launch includes Booking.com, Canva, Coursera, Figma, Expedia, Spotify and Zillow. OpenAI says 11 more partners will arrive by the end of 2025.

The apps have been available since October 6 to signed-in users outside the European Economic Area, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. They work on the Free, Go, Plus and Pro plans, although each service may be limited to the countries where it operates and, in this first phase, part of the experience starts in English.

OpenAI expects to bring them to users in the European Union soon. They will later reach the Business, Enterprise and Edu plans as well.

The new SDK for developers

To build these integrations, OpenAI is introducing the Apps SDK, available in preview. It is a set of tools that lets developers create both an app's logic and its interface, then connect it to their own systems.

The SDK is based on the Model Context Protocol, or MCP, an open standard that lets ChatGPT communicate with external tools and data sources. OpenAI is releasing it as open source, with the aim of allowing apps to work on other platforms that adopt the standard.

Developers can start building and testing their apps with ChatGPT's developer mode. For now, the goal is to gather feedback and improve the tools before opening the publishing process.

What changes for you

If you use ChatGPT to organize trips, learn, design or search for products, some tasks can now be completed without leaving the chat. Instead of receiving only a response with links, you could complete part of the work right there.

But there are important limits. Apps need permission to access certain data or perform certain actions, and availability depends on the country, plan and connected service. OpenAI says it will add more precise controls so you can decide which categories of information each app can use.

By the end of 2025, it also plans to open a directory for searching applications, accepting developer submissions and offering monetization options. These will include the Agentic Commerce Protocol, a standard designed to enable purchases directly in ChatGPT.

The main change is not that ChatGPT has more answers, but that it is starting to act as a shared access point for other services. What matters now is checking what permissions each app requests, what tasks it can actually complete and whether the convenience is worth concentrating more activities inside a single conversation.