ChatGPT as Platform: Monday’s App Push and What It Means for User Agency

ChatGPT as Platform: Monday’s App Push and What It Means for User Agency

On Monday October 6, 2025, OpenAI raised the stakes in AI integration. Rather than having you jump between apps and ChatGPT, they flipped the model: apps now live inside the chat.

Here’s what changed — and what you should be watching:

What OpenAI Unveiled

• A preview of Apps in ChatGPT powered by a new Apps SDK.

• Early integrations: Spotify, Canva, Zillow, Booking.com, Coursera, Figma, Expedia.

• Users outside the EU/UK can access these apps starting Monday (with privacy guardrails).

• Developers can build apps using the SDK now; full submission & monetization come later this year.

The Shift from “Tool” to “Ecosystem”

This isn't a marginal upgrade. It’s a move toward making ChatGPT the place where you live digitally. No more context switching — Spotify, real estate search, design tools — all inside one conversational interface.

That amplifies convenience. But it also concentrates power and visibility.

Ethical & Legal Fault Lines

1. Data scope & permissions
   When you connect Spotify inside ChatGPT, what data does Spotify see? Your entire listening history? Your profile? What about when ChatGPT infers your mood?

2. Preference shaping & nudges
   Subtle suggestions can influence choices. If ChatGPT surfaces one app over another (e.g. “use this restaurant app”), is that fair? Is there “pay-to-play”?

3. Liability & error
   If ChatGPT’s Zillow app suggests a bad property (bad listing, misleading info), who is responsible?

4. Vendor interoperability & lock-in
   If apps live only inside ChatGPT, do you lose control? Can you export? What happens if OpenAI changes rules?

5. Transparency & auditability
   We’ll need logs of which app was invoked, what data was passed, and when user consent was refreshed.

What You Should Do Now

• If you build or integrate apps, insist on least privilege data access

• Review your terms & privacy policies to consider the ChatGPT-internal context

• For users, control your connectors — don’t grant unbounded permissions

• Watch regulation in your jurisdiction; this may cross lines in data law