Platform power shifts from apps to conversations
OpenAI’s DevDay 2025 reframed the internet as a conversation engine with apps embedded directly in ChatGPT. Users can plan trips, compose playlists, or book services without leaving chat, collapsing the web into a single dialogue thread. This is not a gimmick; it represents a fundamental shift in where and how action happens. As OpenAI demonstrated, the Apps SDK and Model Context Protocol (MCP) enable third‑party tools to render interactive interfaces inside ChatGPT, making discovery, selection, and action a single, conversational experience. For marketers, this is a call to rearchitect funnels around dialogue, not destinations. OpenAI’s app platform details outline how developers connect data sources to an AI runtime, creating a new surface for brand experiences within chat.
Meanwhile, the market has already seen early partners—Booking.com, Canva, Expedia, Spotify, Zillow, Figma, Coursera and more—demonstrating that commerce, education, media, and design can be activated inline. The practical implication is that marketers must think about how their products behave as conversational commands, not just as websites or ads. This shift is underscored by industry coverage of the Apps SDK launching with tangible use cases and with clear privacy guardrails that seek to balance surface area and consent. BusinessGhana’s coverage and Tempo’s DevDay context frame the scale and user reach now at stake for marketers.
As a result, “distribution” becomes a function of intent, not a marketplace listing. This is echoed in analyses of the ecosystem shift, including AgentKit and no‑code toolchains that let teams prototype and deploy conversational workflows rapidly. In short: the platform is the product, and conversations are the new channels. TechLatest on AgentKit and the MCP standard underpinning Apps SDK illuminate how brands can map data, actions, and UI into chat narratives.
Key insight: The Apps inside ChatGPT move marketing from destinations to orchestration, forcing a redefinition of where value is created in a customer journey. TechLatest coverage
Marketing strategy playbook for an era of conversational apps
The new reality asks marketers to rethink discovery, attribution, and loyalty in a world where a single chat can surface, compare, and execute across services. The first wave of Apps inside ChatGPT creates practical templates: location‑based home searches inside Zillow, booking flows inside Expedia, and design tasks inside Canva. The lesson for marketers is to design for “in‑chat journeys” where the user’s intent drives app surface and action in one thread. Coursera’s partnership signals how education and credentialing can migrate to conversational surfaces, turning chats into guided, interactive learning experiences. YourStory’s DevDay digest and Globe and Mail on Coursera provide concrete examples of this trend in action.
For CMOs, it’s no longer about ranking in an App Store but about surfacing in conversations where users plan, decide, and transact. The Apps SDK promises an ecosystem where millions of users encounter brand experiences through natural dialogue, bypassing traditional discovery barriers like search and pure ads. This requires new go‑to‑market thinking: co‑investments with AI developers, joint go‑to‑market content that showcases conversational flows, and clear privacy contracts that reassure users about data handling. GeekWire’s take on risk and traction and Tempo’s DevDay user scale frame the growth opportunities and cautions for marketers.
Key insight: Discovery migrates into conversation, so alliances with AI platforms and developers become the central component of a successful marketing strategy. GeekWire platform take
Measurement, governance, and risk in the new interface economy
The convergence of data, apps, and chat raises new questions about measurement and governance. In the OpenAI model, data surfaces are bounded by guardrails, privacy policies, and minimum‑data permissions, but the depth of access to conversational context remains a live topic. The Cable’s reporting on OpenAI’s Apps rollout highlights questions about data surface, user consent, and who controls the surface area of the data that apps access. It also notes planned granular data controls and the need for transparent permissions, a critical baseline for marketers operating in regulated regions. TheCable coverage and Mathrubhumi summary illustrate the cross‑border governance challenges and opportunities.
At the same time, there is a real incentive for brands to embrace attribution within the context of conversational actions. If a user asks for a travel plan and a playlist, the platform could attribute engagement to the participating app surface rather than a page click. The risk is potential data leakage or misalignment with consumer expectations about privacy; the industry will evolve standards for surfaced data, consent prompts, and monetization streams tied to app surfaces. BusinessGhana report and Tempo DevDay coverage anchor these debates in real world policy and practice.
Key insight: The new surface requires rigorous data governance and measurement models that tie in‑chat actions to business outcomes, not just impressions. TheCable analysis
Execution blueprint for CMOs in an AI‑first era
CMOs should pursue a two‑track strategy: (1) embed with OpenAI’s app ecosystem to surface branded capabilities directly in conversations, and (2) invest in internal conversational experiences that can be offered as a service to external developers via MCP‑compliant backends. This mirrors the AgentKit approach, which provides a no‑code builder to assemble AI agents and a robust governance framework for production use. The Apps SDK offers a directory‑style discovery path once surfaced publicly, enabling marketers to ride the network effects of a growing app ecosystem. TechLatest on AgentKit and OpenAI app platform overview provide concrete starting points for partnerships and experimentation.
Operationally, brands should design conversational flows that demonstrate value in a single chat: prompt the user with a natural language task, surface a branded app, and complete the action seamlessly. Coursera’s app partnership shows how a trusted learning platform can be woven into chat, turning a question into a guided learning path. Coursera–OpenAI collaboration and Mathrubhumi summary offer practical case studies.
Quote: “Agents inside our chat become the operating system for the internet, not just a search box.” This captures the strategic implication of a platform where intent drives actions across apps. AgentKit perspective
Quote: “Distribution is now a sentence.” A vivid reminder that reach comes from conversational surfaces, not banners. OpenAI app platform note
Key insight: CMOs must treat the OpenAI app economy as a joint venture with developers, balancing growth with governance to unlock reliable, scalable, conversation‑driven marketing. GeekWire risk‑and‑growth analysis
TL;DR: The shift to in‑chat apps demands a new marketing operating system built around intent orchestration, developer partnerships, and strong governance. TheCable coverage
TL;DR
- Apps inside ChatGPT turn conversations into commerce surfaces, compressing discovery, intent, and action. Tempo DevDay context
- Marketers should invest in partnerships, co‑branded conversational flows, and internal apps that can be surfaced by AI agents. AgentKit insights
- Governance, data privacy, and measurement are now front and center as data surfaces and permissions evolve. TheCable governance notes