TL;DR: OpenAI has launched an app integration platform inside ChatGPT, allowing third-party apps from Booking.com, Coursera, Canva, Expedia, Figma, Spotify, and Zillow to be invoked directly in conversations. This marks the beginning of a new distribution channel for brands—one that could evolve like Apple’s App Store with paid rankings and commissions, or remain open and merit-based. Either way, AI Search Visibility Optimization (AISO) now extends beyond organic answers to include app integrations, partner channel optimization, and potentially paid placements.

What OpenAI's ChatGPT “app store” is and why it matters for AI search optimization

OpenAI recently announced they are launching apps in ChatGPT. Which means we may see the start of a transformation from a question-answering tool into an app platform. Third-party apps can now be invoked inside conversations using the “@” symbol, with an Apps SDK and browsable directory planned for broader developer access.

The initial seven partners (Booking.com, Coursera, Canva, Expedia, Figma, Spotify, and Zillow) enjoy a first-mover advantage. While users must manually tag apps today, simply being available inside ChatGPT creates visibility that organic answers and external links cannot match.

OpenAI has also introduced the Agentic Commerce Protocol, an open standard enabling instant, in-chat transactions. Users can now book hotels, purchase courses, or stream music without leaving ChatGPT. This redefines AI search visibility: being callable inside the assistant can outrank both traditional links and even “organic” AI-generated answers for high-intent tasks like booking and buying.

For brands, this shift is profound. Visibility in AI search no longer means just optimizing content for model training or retrieval. It now includes building or partnering on apps that ChatGPT can invoke, creating a new layer of competition parallel to SEO and app store optimization.

How platform deals shape visibility: from licensed content to in-chat apps

OpenAI has aggressively signed content-licensing and data-access deals with major publishers and platforms, including Associated Press, Axel Springer (Politico, Business Insider), Financial Times, News Corp (Wall Street Journal, Barron’s, New York Post), Condé Nast, Time, Le Monde, The Atlantic, Vox Media, Dotdash Meredith, and Future. These deals typically grant OpenAI rights to train on archives and surface summaries with attribution (Associated Press, July 2023).

Social and community platforms have also monetized structured access. Reddit disclosed licensing contracts worth ~$203 million aggregate, including a deal with Google reported at ~$60 million annually and a separate data-access arrangement with OpenAI (TechCrunch, February 2024). Stack Overflow signed an API partnership to supply vetted technical content into ChatGPT (Stack Overflow, 2024).

These partnerships create proximity and preferential inclusion. Licensed sources are more likely to be cited in organic answers, simply due to their availability and presence in training data, and now, partner apps gain callable status inside conversations. For brands, this creates a double advantage: better representation in AI-generated responses and priority as invokable apps.

Non-partners face a steeper hill. Visibility competition shifts from GEO and ALLMO alone to negotiating data access, app integrations, and partner channel optimization.

Open vs. closed futures: will ChatGPT become the new Apple?

The big question is whether ChatGPT will evolve into a closed ecosystem like Apple’s App Store, where rankings, paid placement, commissions, and directory policies gate discovery, or remain open, allowing any developer to publish with quality, safety, and engagement driving visibility.

Open trajectory indicators:

• Public SDK launched, available for all developers.

• 11 additional apps confirmed to launch before the end of 2025.

• Organic answers remain first-class alongside callable apps.

• Consistent with the company’s founding principle of being Open AI.

Closed trajectory indicators:

• Introduction of marketplace fees and transaction commissions (similar to Apple’s 15–30% model) as a potential solution to OpenAI’s looming monetization challenges.

• Limited initial access, with only a small group of test customers included in the first cohort.

• Lack of transparency around app approval criteria, review processes, and associated launch costs.

Regardless of path, certain signals will likely matter in both scenarios:

• User satisfaction: retention, click-through to action, task completion rates

• Trust and safety: compliance, guardrails, and brand safety

• Performance: latency, reliability, and freshness

Monetization details are pending. Sam Altman stated guidance will come “soon,” but expect mixes of marketplace fees, ads, and transaction commissions (OpenAI, October 2025). Brands should scenario-plan for both futures now, considering to build apps and potential partner optimizations that work in open and closed models.

The ALLMO playbook for ChatGPT apps: three paths to visibility

Brands now face three distinct paths to visibility inside ChatGPT:

1. Build your own ChatGPT app

Develop apps that cover high-intent tasks end-to-end—booking, purchasing, subscribing, troubleshooting. Design for low-friction invocation with well-typed schemas for actions, retrieval, and instant checkout. Focus on the most common intents in your category and backcast content, data feeds, and actions to satisfy them.

Familiarize yourself early with the ChatGPT Apps SDK and start building prototype applications. This ensures you’re ready to launch as soon as OpenAI allows public apps on their platform. Early technical readiness will be a key advantage when the platform opens to wider developer access.

2. Win through partner apps

Optimize your presence where users already act. If you’re a hotel, optimize Booking.com or Expedia listings. If you’re an artist, enhance Spotify metadata. Treat these like “AI app SERPs”, the new battleground for visibility inside conversational AI.

3. Strengthen organic LLM visibility

Structure content for factual reliability, freshness, and concise, quotable passages aligned to common user intents. Even as callable apps rise, organic answers persist. Invest in becoming reference-worthy through authoritative, well-cited content.

Priority intents: book, buy, subscribe, troubleshoot, design, learn. These convert in-chat. Backcast your content strategy and partnerships to satisfy them.

Optimizing for partner apps: channel-specific tactics

Travel (Booking.com / Expedia)

• Completeness and accuracy: up-to-date pricing, availability, and amenities

• Rich media: high-quality photos and videos, that can be displayed in chat

• Structured data: detailed taxonomies (e.g., pet-friendly, pool, near transit) are becoming even more important as users on ChatGPT ask increasingly specific, long-tail questions.

Entertainment (Spotify)

• Metadata hygiene: clean artist names, album info, and track tags

• Mood and occasion tagging: label tracks by mood, activity, or context

• Editorial signals: optimize for playlist inclusion, saves, and skip rates

Real estate (Zillow)

• Timely listings: ensure data freshness and remove stale entries

• Accurate attributes: bedrooms, bathrooms, square footage, lot size

• Neighborhood data: schools, transit, crime stats, local amenities

Design (Canva / Figma)

Likely the least relevant category of apps for now when it comes to AI search visibility. However, if you are selling templates or just use the apps in general to collaborate with your team, here are two things to consider:

• Template taxonomy: clear categorization by use case (social media, presentation, flyer)

• "Promptability": ensure assets are discoverable via natural language queries

FAQ: practical questions about the ChatGPT app ecosystem

Do I need a ChatGPT app now?

If you have high-intent tasks (think book, buy, file, design) and reliable APIs, yes. Otherwise, start by optimizing partner channels (Booking.com, Spotify) and organic LLM visibility. Building an app makes sense when you can deliver end-to-end value inside ChatGPT and measure clear ROI.

Will paid placement dominate visibility?

Monetization details are undisclosed, but plan for both paid and merit-based discovery. Optimize for quality, safety, and user satisfaction to succeed in either scenario. Early signals suggest OpenAI may blend marketplace fees, ads, and transaction commissions (estimated based on industry practice).

What about organic answers?

Organic answers persist, but callable apps can intercept high-intent tasks. Invest in factual, fresh, quotable content to remain reference-worthy. Structure pages for semantic clarity, cite authoritative sources, and update frequently.

Key Takeaways

• OpenAI’s app platform turns ChatGPT into a distribution and commerce surface, not just an answer engine, early partners gain a visibility head start.

• Licensing deals with publishers and platforms (News Corp, Reddit, Shutterstock) create proximity advantages, influencing what ChatGPT shows and calls.

• AISO now spans three channels: build your own apps, optimize partner apps (Booking.com, Spotify), and strengthen organic LLM visibility.

• Whether ChatGPT evolves into a closed ecosystem (rankings, commissions, ads) or remains open, brands should scenario-plan for both futures now.

• Core optimization tactics vary by sector: travel focuses on partner listings, retail on product feeds, education on intent mapping, SaaS on workflow actions.

• Measurement and governance are critical: track app invocations, in-chat conversions, and satisfaction signals; establish policies for outputs, hallucinations, and brand safety.

• First movers win disproportionately: map top intents in your category, decide where to build versus partner, and instrument measurement today.

• The companies that learn fastest: across direct apps, partner channels, and organic visibility, will own the next wave of AI search.