Can ChatGPT Recommend and Launch Apps as a Distribution Channel?

What are the two routes?

What happened to the ChatGPT App Store?

OpenAI opened app submissions and launched an app directory inside ChatGPT in December 2025. On July 9, 2026, its release notes said it was replacing the App Directory with the Plugin Directory, and that existing app connections were unaffected. A plugin can package skills, MCP connections to your service and optional interface components. ChatGPT and Codex now share one universal directory, so the same public plugins can be found from both.

When people say "the ChatGPT App Store", they now mean the Plugin Directory. It is not an app store in the iPhone sense. There are no paid downloads, and the plugin is a way to reach your service from a conversation, not a replacement for your product.

How to get your app discovered in the ChatGPT App Store

Discovery in the directory depends mainly on the listing and on how well ChatGPT understands when to use your tools. OpenAI's guidance points to these steps:

• A clear, specific name. OpenAI asks developers to avoid generic single-word names not tied to the brand, and not to add "MCP", "MCP Server" or "Plugin" to the product name.
• Plain descriptions. Describe what the plugin does, without comparisons, unverifiable claims, prices, free trials or promotions.
• Example prompts. Screenshots are no longer shown in the directory. Example prompts show people how to start, so write them as real tasks.
• Discovery keywords and countries. The package format includes optional keywords and a country availability list.
• A verified publisher identity. Submissions must come from verified individuals or organisations, and the directory shows the verified name.
• Tool metadata that guides the model. OpenAI's metadata guide recommends names that pair domain and action, such as calendar.create_event, and descriptions that start with "Use this when…" and say when not to use the tool.

Once installed, a plugin is only useful if ChatGPT picks it for the right request. OpenAI suggests building a "golden prompt set" before tuning. It should include direct prompts that name your product, indirect prompts that describe the outcome without naming it, and negative prompts where another tool should handle the request. Then track precision and recall, change one metadata field at a time, and replay the prompts after each release.

How do people find and use plugins?

According to OpenAI's user documentation, people open the Plugins tab, search or browse, and install a plugin with the plus button, connecting or signing in to your service if needed. The directory has tabs for OpenAI's own plugins, plugins provided by a workspace, and personal plugins. After installing, people either describe the task and let ChatGPT choose the right installed tool, or type @ to call a plugin directly.

Where available, Sign in with ChatGPT lets people create or link an account with your service while connecting, sharing only their name, email address and profile picture. For a new user, that makes the plugin a sign-up route as well as a feature.

OpenAI's guidelines add that plugins with "strong real-world utility and high user satisfaction" may be eligible for "enhanced distribution opportunities, such as directory placement or proactive suggestions." In other words, being listed is the minimum. Being suggested to people who have not installed you is earned.

What can't you do inside a plugin?

The rules matter because they change the business case:

• No digital sales. Plugins may sell only physical goods for now. Subscriptions, digital content, tokens and credits cannot be sold, directly or through freemium upsells.
• No upgrade prompts. Plugins must not show plans, start subscriptions or promote upgrades. They may explain that a feature needs a different plan and link to an informational page, but not to a checkout.
• External checkout for physical goods. Purchases are completed on your own domain. OpenAI says Instant Checkout, in beta, is limited to select marketplace partners.
• No ads. Plugins must not serve advertisements or exist mainly to advertise.
• No worse version. If a feature exists on your website, the plugin must not offer a worse version, or add ChatGPT-specific fees.
• Fair play. Descriptions and tool metadata must not tell the model to prefer your plugin over others, or disparage alternatives.

For subscription software, the plugin mainly serves people who already pay, or who sign up on your site. It is a retention and activation channel more than a place to sell.

Is it worth it as a distribution channel?

It depends on whether your product is useful in the middle of a conversation. It tends to fit:

• Lookup and action tools, such as searching records, checking availability, booking, quoting or creating a document.
• Products people already mention in chats, where a plugin turns a mention into use.
• Physical-goods sellers, who can show products and send buyers to their own checkout.

It is a weaker fit for apps whose value lies in a rich interface of their own, or whose revenue depends on selling a subscription at the first visit.

OpenAI has not published install or usage figures for the Plugin Directory, and we have not launched or measured a plugin ourselves. This assessment is based on OpenAI's developer documentation and guidelines, not on our own conversion data. There are also early teething problems: in September 2026, developers on OpenAI's community forum reported that some recently published plugins appeared in directory search but could not be found from inside conversations.

How do you get ChatGPT to recommend your app in normal answers?

This is the larger channel for most apps, and it works like any other AI recommendation. ChatGPT draws on web search for questions such as "best app for tracking shared expenses", so it needs pages and third-party sources that describe your app for that use:

• Use-case pages on your site that state who the app is for, what it does and on which platforms.
• Honest comparison pages against the apps buyers weigh you against.
• Coverage and reviews on the independent sites that rank apps in your category.
• Consistent store listings, so the name, features and prices match everywhere.

The detail is in how to get a B2B software product recommended by AI assistants, and whether payment can shortcut it is covered in whether a vendor can train or pay ChatGPT to recommend a SaaS product. To see where you stand today, follow how to check whether ChatGPT recommends your SaaS or business.

What should you measure?

• For the plugin: tool calls per week, the share of calls that were the right tool, connected accounts, and new accounts created through Sign in with ChatGPT. OpenAI's metadata guide suggests reviewing tool-call analytics weekly and treating spikes in wrong-tool confirmations as metadata drift.
• For recommendations: how often ChatGPT names your app for your key questions, which competitors it names instead, and which sources it cites.
• For both: sign-ups and activations from ChatGPT referrals, so the channel is judged on customers, not mentions.

For sellers of physical goods, the shopping side is covered in how ChatGPT is turning into a shopping platform.

What might this look like in practice?

Consider an illustrative home-repair quoting app, Fixquote. ChatGPT rarely named it for "how much does it cost to replace a water heater", because its site had one generic landing page. The team published cost guides by job and region and earned reviews on two trade directories, and ChatGPT began naming it alongside larger rivals. They then built a plugin with one tool, quotes.request_estimate, and wrote a golden prompt set of 60 prompts. The set included 20 negative prompts, such as general plumbing advice, where the plugin should stay silent. After three rounds of metadata changes, the plugin was chosen for most quote requests and ignored for the negative prompts. New accounts arrived through Sign in with ChatGPT, and paid upgrades still happened on Fixquote's own site.

What do people ask about ChatGPT apps and plugins?

Is there still a ChatGPT App Store?

Not under that name. On July 9, 2026, OpenAI replaced the App Directory with the Plugin Directory, shared by ChatGPT and Codex.

Can I sell subscriptions through a ChatGPT plugin?

No. Plugins may sell only physical goods for now, and must not show plans or promote upgrades.

Does ChatGPT suggest plugins people have not installed?

OpenAI says plugins with strong utility and high satisfaction may be eligible for proactive suggestions and directory placement.

Can my plugin make ChatGPT prefer my product?

No. OpenAI's fair-play rule bans metadata that tells the model to prefer one plugin over others.