OpenAI has turned ChatGPT into something closer to an operating system than a chatbot. You can now connect apps like Spotify, DoorDash, Canva, Figma, Expedia, and Booking.com directly inside a conversation, letting the AI take actions on your behalf across those services.
The integrations work through OpenAI's Apps SDK, which is built on the Model Context Protocol (MCP) - an open standard that lets AI models talk to external tools and data sources. The practical result: you type a request in plain English, and ChatGPT handles the rest inside the connected app.
What You Can Actually Do
The capabilities vary by app, but here's what the initial batch supports:
- Spotify - Ask ChatGPT to build a playlist for a specific mood, artist, or occasion. It creates the playlist directly in your Spotify account. You can also add or remove songs from your library through the chat.
- DoorDash - Describe a meal plan and ChatGPT will add all the ingredients to your DoorDash cart from participating grocery retailers like Kroger, Safeway, and Wegmans. US only.
- Canva - Request designs by describing what you need: "a 16:9 slide deck about our Q4 roadmap" or "a poster for a dog-walking business." Canva generates it within the chat.
- Figma - Generate diagrams, wireframes, and flow charts from text descriptions.
- Expedia and Booking.com - Search and compare travel options conversationally.
More partners are rolling out soon, including Uber, OpenTable, Target, AllTrails, and Peloton. OpenAI also recently added a batch of MCP-based connectors for business tools: Semrush, Amplitude, Stripe, Monday.com, Vercel, and Fireflies, among others.
How to Connect
Two ways in. The fastest: just mention an app by name in your chat prompt. ChatGPT will walk you through linking your account. Alternatively, go to Settings > Apps and Connectors to browse and connect everything at once.
Apps are available to all logged-in ChatGPT users on Free, Go, Plus, and Pro plans. The catch: they're currently unavailable in the European Economic Area, Switzerland, and the UK.
The Privacy Trade-off
Connecting an app means sharing your account data with ChatGPT. Spotify access, for instance, includes your playlists and listening history. You can disconnect any app from Settings at any time, but read the permissions carefully before linking, especially for financial or delivery services. OpenAI says it reaches over 800 million ChatGPT users with this feature, which makes the data access question worth thinking about before you click "Connect."
The bigger picture here is OpenAI positioning ChatGPT as the interface layer for everything you do online. That worked out poorly when they tried plugins in 2023, but the Apps SDK approach - built on an open standard, with real partner buy-in from major consumer brands - looks like a more serious attempt. Whether users actually prefer ordering DoorDash through a chatbot instead of just opening the app remains the open question.