Late last week, OpenAI told developers that they could start submitting apps for review and publication in ChatGPT (and unveiled a new app directory in the process).

The AI search space moves pretty fast (cue Ferris Bueller theme music), so we wanted to break down what’s new and why it matters (or doesn’t) to your brand.

Here are the headlines, our first impressions, and the implications for AI search.

From app to app platform

Last week’s announcement provides companies with a clearer path to OpenAI’s burgeoning app marketplace.

Developers can now test a fully baked application at any time before submitting it for approval (see submission guidelines here).

And there’s a clarity bonus: No more Apps vs. Connectors confusion. All tools that connect ChatGPT to external services now have the “Apps” moniker, they just come in different flavors.

OpenAI first announced apps in ChatGPT (and revealed its Apps SDK) back in October. At the time, Scrunch cofounder and CTO Robert MacCloy wrote that it was the latest attempt in the company’s push to make ChatGPT a platform for developers versus just a consumer app itself.

Becoming an intermediary between app developers and consumers worked wonders for Apple. And with a user base of 800 million weekly active users, ChatGPT represents a distribution opportunity companies certainly shouldn’t sneeze at.

Now OpenAI is lifting the velvet rope beyond the high-profile pilot partners (Booking.com, Canva, Coursera, Figma, Expedia, Spotify, and Zillow) it kicked things off with.

First impressions from building a test app

I started playing around with OpenAI’s building tools pretty much immediately after I saw the announcement. You can get a taste of what I put together in the video at the top of the page.

My initial thoughts:

Developer Mode is pretty fun

You can wrap any public API you have access to in an MCP and some tool calls to further personalize your ChatGPT experience. There’s no memory in Developer Mode, but I’m curious to see if more devs start experimenting with it.

Game-changing app experiences will probably take some time

As companies race to deploy their own apps, I imagine most will essentially be wrappers on top of existing UIs or APIs (i.e., one-to-one API/widget → MCP tool call). At least to start.

Dev and product mindsets around what good MCP architecture and tool calling looks like are going to need to mature if this is going to be truly useful (and not just redirect users to company sites versus ChatGPT).

Payments could cause friction

You still can’t use instant payments without being gated in by ChatGPT and going through a lengthy approval process. Having come from Stripe, ChatGPT’s core payments partner, I can tell you that this capability is likely going to take longer than anybody wants it to.

And if companies can’t sell directly to customers within the app, it's going to beg the question of how much time and money to invest in it.

Stay data-smart

Data sharing between ChatGPT and these apps is quite broad. Brands will need to make sure that their MCP is conservative and not using and saving data that it doesn’t need.

Apps and AI search: The TBD connection

The big question: How might this impact AI search performance?

Is it a good thing? A bad thing? A no-thing?

The two burning questions I’m guessing most people have is:

• Will publishing an app in ChatGPT help my AI search performance?
• How can I get my app seen or recommended by ChatGPT in search?

Will publishing an app in ChatGPT help my AI search performance?

This is very much an open question. We need more testing to see if having an app impacts brand presence or performance in ChatGPT.

If anything, this feels like a gateway drug to paid ads, since it opens up the metrics required to start charging companies.

And it’s 100% possible that having an app just for having an app's sake (i.e., one that doesn’t deliver a delightful customer experience and provide real utility to users) could reduce referral traffic and conversions.

If you’re going to build an app for ChatGPT, I’d highly recommend that you think seriously about what your goals are, how you’re going to measure progress, and how your app design is going to diverge from your core API and web design strategy to meet the needs of this new channel.

How can I get my app seen or recommended by ChatGPT in search?

Here are the pertinent parts of OpenAI’s most recent announcement:

Pertinent part No. 1: “Once users connect to apps, apps can get triggered during conversations when @ mentioned by name, or when selected from the tools menu. We’re also experimenting with ways to surface relevant, helpful apps directly within conversations—using signals like conversational context, app usage patterns, and user preferences—and giving users clear ways to provide feedback.”

In other words, beyond hunting for apps in the directory, users can get them served up by:

• Calling a company out by name: “Hey @Spotify, help me make a playlist for my Christmas party.”
• Having a relevant conversation: “Hey ChatGPT, I’m burnt out on 'Jingle Bells'—help me discover some new Christmas classics.”

Keep in mind: OpenAI also previously signaled that citations may result in app recommendations (one more reason to get your citation strategy firing on all cylinders).

Pertinent part No. 2: “Apps that meet our quality and safety standards are eligible to be published in the app directory, and apps that resonate with users may be featured more prominently in the directory or recommended by ChatGPT in the future.”

“Resonate” could mean a lot of things. Brand recognition? App usage?

One prediction: ChatGPT could prioritize brands that are already part of the AI citation ecosystem. If we start seeing certain patterns, I wouldn't be surprised if sites that get mentioned or cited frequently in search responses also get surfaced more in app recommendations.

But long story short, this is still a huge unknown.

Observability in the app era

We’re watching these developments closely (and building for them).

In terms of observability, we’re working toward platform enhancements that will allow you to tell when apps are being recommended and when tool calls are being made.

And as for our MCP plans, let’s just say that we’re very excited about the prospect of helping our customers interact with their data in Scrunch in new ways that will offer even more direct paths to business outcomes.

Lots more to come on that front soon.

Main takeaway? There are tons of systems devouring your brand, content, products, services, etc. and deciding whether humans ever see it or click through.

If apps in ChatGPT really take off, OpenAI will become even more of an intermediary between brands and their customers.

As the space continues to evolve, our policy is to support every credible entrant with max effort.

We know the pace of change is exhausting. That's why we built Scrunch.

To help you navigate it with the visibility and control you need to win in AI search, no matter how the ecosystem shifts.

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