ChatGPT seeks to become a gateway for digital services

OpenAl is making it easier for ChatGPT users to connect with third-party apps within the chatbot to carry out tasks, the company’slatest bid to turnits flagship product into a key gateway for digital services.

- By SHIRIN GHAFFARY AND RACHEL METZ

With the new option, unveiled Monday at OpenAl’s annual developers event, a user can ask ChatGPT to create a playlist forthe weekend, and the app will connect with Spotify to make suggestions. Alternatively, a user can look upa three-bedroom home in a specific neighborhood on Zillow, without leaving the ChatGPT app. Other apps, including Figma, Expedia and Booking.com, are also available. The feature, which OpenAl calls “talking to apps,” requires users to sign intothe apps the first time.

“There’s an opportunity for builders to create entirely new applications that are even native to ChatGPT, and of course for services you love to be able to benefit there, too,” Brad Lightcap, OpenAl's chief operating officer, told Bloomberg TV on Monday.

The event caps off a frenzied few weeks for the company. OpenAl completed a secondary share sale that propelled it to become the most valuable startup in the world. It introduced several notable features and products, including a social video app called Sora that quickly rose to the top of Apple Inc.’s App Store. And it announced large infrastructure deals with Nvidia, Advanced Micro Devices and others to support broader adoption ofits technology.