ChatGPT plug-ins grow into sidebar apps with interactive panels and event-triggered automations

TechCrunch's Sarah Perez reports that OpenAI is letting developers build app-like experiences inside ChatGPT through plug-in extensions. These include a dedicated sidebar home, interactive panels that appear while chatting and file viewers for product-specific formats. Existing plug-ins already connect ChatGPT to services like Slack, SharePoint, Airtable and Google Drive; the new layer targets any app that works better inside the chat interface.

OpenAI is also introducing a Plugin Creator, a redesigned process for submitting to the plug-in directory, improved ranking and recommendations and per-plugin access approvals. ChatGPT Sites can host plug-ins for colleagues, with each user's own data permissions applied.

Support for MCP Events would let plug-ins start automations when something happens in a connected app, such as a new file or message. That moves plug-ins from tools a user invokes to workflows that run in the background, overlapping with automation platforms and with OpenAI's Dots agents.

Event-triggered automations raise permission questions. Per-plugin approvals and inherited data permissions are meant to keep access scoped, which matters given recent security reporting such as a flaw in ChatGPT's Mac app.

The plug-in expansion is one piece of a broader strategy that TechCrunch described as taking direct aim at the app store model. With apps running inside chat, ChatGPT becomes a place where users discover and use software, not just ask questions. OpenAI also launched features resembling an office suite inside ChatGPT, adding competitive pressure on Microsoft.

For developers, the opportunity is reaching ChatGPT's large user base without building a separate front end. The risks include dependence on OpenAI's ranking and approval decisions. Developer uptake, how recommendations are ranked and how MCP Events automations are secured will show whether the plug-in platform matures. A roundup of announcements is in OpenAI DevDay 2026: the biggest news. More in our tools coverage and enterprise coverage.