OpenAI Lets Users Access Third-Party Apps Within ChatGPT Conversations

ChatGPT users can now chat with several third-party apps while in conversation with the chatbot.

OpenAI announced this feature called Apps in ChatGPT, together with an Apps SDK for developers that enables them to build these kinds of apps, in a Monday (Oct. 6) press release.

The first apps are now available to all logged-in ChatGPT users on Free, Go, Plus and Pro plans, except those in the European Union, according to the release.

The pilot partners offering apps within ChatGPT are Booking.com, Canva, Coursera, Figma, Expedia, Spotify and Zillow, per the release. Eleven more partners and their apps will be added later this year.

“The magic of this new generation of apps in ChatGPT is how they blend familiar interactive elements — like maps, playlists and presentations — with new ways of interacting through conversation,” OpenAI said in its release. “You can start with an outline and ask Canva to transform it into a slide deck, or take a course with Coursera and ask ChatGPT to elaborate on something in the video as you watch.”

In its own press release about this offering, Coursera said its app was built on Apps SDK and makes Coursera’s educational content more discoverable by enabling ChatGPT users to access it in conversations.

“By putting trusted, verified learning into the hands of hundreds of millions of people, we can help them gain the skills they need to pursue economic opportunity and prepare for the jobs of tomorrow,” Coursera CEO Greg Hart said in the release.

Spotify said in a Monday press release that by bringing its service into their ChatGPT conversations, Spotify Free and Premium users can receive personalized recommendations for music and podcasts.

“Free users will be able to source from Spotify’s catalog of playlists already on the app, such as Discover Weekly and New Music Friday,” the company said in the release. “Premium users can take it a step further by having Spotify turn their more elaborate prompts into a fresh and fully personalized selection of tracks.”

Zillow said in a Monday press release that adding its real estate app to ChatGPT enables users to discover rentals and homes for sale by agents or owners within the Zillow app on ChatGPT and then be seamlessly guided into Zillow to schedule a tour, connect with an agent or explore financing.

“As people increasingly turn to conversational AI to make their lives easier, Zillow is bringing that same simplicity to the home journey within ChatGPT,” Zillow Chief Technology Officer David Beitel said in the release.

In another recent move, OpenAI said on Sept. 29 that it launched Buy It in ChatGPT, which features Instant Checkout that shifts ChatGPT from being a conversational assistant to becoming a transactional platform.

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