OpenAI’s latest features take direct aim at the app store model

TechCrunch argues Dots, models, and platform updates combine into an app-store alternative. ChatGPT (1.2B weekly users) will suggest apps in-conversation, connect them, and run interactive plugin extensions inside chat. “Sign in with ChatGPT” lets users carry AI allowance into third-party apps; 16 launch partners include Cognition’s Devin, Notion, Vercel, T3, OpenClaw, and Dactyl.

An enterprise marketplace launches with 30-plus partners (Adobe, Figma, Sierra, Decagon, HubSpot, Salesforce, ServiceNow, Harvey, Legora, Palo Alto Networks, CrowdStrike, Baseten, others); eligible customers can apply OpenAI commitment spend to approved partner software. Dots connect to 4,000+ apps with proactive read-only research. No billing/revenue-share layer comparable to mobile app stores was announced.

We’re watching distribution power move from home screens to chat threads.

If discovery happens inside the model, Apple and Google’s tollbooths weaken — and OpenAI’s ranking becomes the new gate. Useful for developers who want AI-native UX without a native binary. Risky if “suggested app” is an unaccountable ad system with your allowance attached.

I’m noting what wasn’t shipped: the economic layer. Without revenue share, this is still a distribution play, not a full store. Marketplace commitment credits are the enterprise wedge. Agents that pick tools for users finish the thought — you stop choosing apps and start approving outcomes.

We’ll back open-enough plugin ecosystems. We’ll fight any future where one chat vendor silently becomes the only shelf that matters.

TechCrunch, September 29, 2026 (Sarah Perez).