OpenAI launches ChatGPT app store

Hey AI Enthusiast,

ChatGPT just launched an app store.

Developers can now submit apps for review and publication directly in ChatGPT.

The new app directory sits in Chat's tools menu. Major platforms like Expedia, Spotify, Zillow, and Canva already have integrations.

Apps extend ChatGPT conversations by bringing in new context and letting users take actions order groceries, turn outlines into slide decks, search for apartments without leaving the chat.

OpenAI's Apps SDK is in beta. Developers can submit apps through the OpenAI Developer platform and track approval status.

Approved apps start launching in 2026.

This is OpenAI's big move to expand the app ecosystem within Chat and give users more reasons to stay on the platform.

But the real Marketing Monday lesson isn't about app stores.

It's about why broadcasting at people stopped working and what actually builds loyalty.

But first, today's prompt (then the community strategy most brands miss...)

🔥 Prompt of the Day 🔥

AI-Powered A/B Testing System

Act as a conversion optimization specialist. Create one systematic A/B testing framework for [WEBSITE ELEMENT] that uses AI to generate hypotheses, create variations, and accelerate learning cycles.

Essential Details:

• Test Element: [HEADLINE/CTA/IMAGE/LAYOUT/FORM/PRICING]

• Traffic Volume: [MONTHLY VISITORS + CURRENT CONVERSION RATE]

• Conversion Goal: [WHAT TO IMPROVE + TARGET INCREASE %]

• Statistical Significance: [CONFIDENCE LEVEL - typically 95%]

• Minimum Detectable Effect: [SMALLEST CHANGE WORTH DETECTING]

• AI Variation Generator: [ChatGPT/Claude/Gemini/Custom GPT]

• Testing Platform: [Optimizely/VWO/Google Optimize/Custom]

• Test Duration: [ESTIMATED RUN TIME]

• Sample Size Required: [CALCULATED VISITORS NEEDED]

Create one complete testing framework including:

1. Hypothesis generation system (AI prompts to create testable hypotheses based on data)

2. Variation creation template (10 variations across different approaches)

3. Traffic split strategy (how to allocate traffic, when to adjust)

4. Data collection setup (metrics to track, events to fire, tools to use)

5. Statistical analysis guide (how to know when test is valid, when to stop)

6. Winner implementation process (deployment workflow, documentation)

7. Learning documentation template (capture insights for future tests)

8. Failed test analysis (what to learn when tests don't win)

9. Sequential testing strategy (what to test next based on results)

Output as: Complete testing workflow with AI prompts for each phase, ready to execute immediately.

Test smarter, learn faster, scale winners confidently.

✅ Marketing Monday ✅

Community Over Audience: Why Broadcasting Stopped Working

Most brands are building audiences. They should be building communities.

Audiences watch. Communities participate.

Audiences are passive. You broadcast content. They consume it. Maybe they like it. But they don't defend you. They don't recruit for you. They don't stick around when something better shows up.

Communities are active. Members talk to each other. They help each other. They create content for you. They defend your brand. They recruit new members without you asking.

Why This Matters

Attention is expensive. Ad costs keep rising. Organic reach keeps declining.

Broadcasting at people doesn't scale anymore. But community does.

A strong community generates its own content, engagement, word-of-mouth, and retention. You stop paying for every impression.

What Most Brands Get Wrong

They confuse followers with community.

100,000 Instagram followers isn't a community. It's an audience.

A community is 1,000 people who talk to each other, know each other's names, and help each other solve problems.

Communities convert and refer at higher rates because communities have relationships. Audiences just have impressions.

How to Build Community

Create spaces for customer-to-customer connection. Private Facebook groups, Slack channels, forums, live events. The key: You're not the star. The members are.

Facilitate conversations between members. Ask questions. Introduce members to each other. Highlight common interests. Your role shifts from broadcaster to connector.

Highlight member contributions and stories. Feature member wins. Share member content. Recognition drives participation.

Participation beats presentation. Stop thinking like a content creator. Start thinking like a community manager. Ask for input. Crowdsource solutions. Talk with people, not at them.

Test community engagement vs traditional marketing. Split a product launch: 50% traditional marketing, 50% community-driven. Measure conversions, referrals, retention. Most brands find community-driven launches outperform broadcast launches.

Foster belonging, not just following. People follow brands. People belong to communities. Your community should have shared values, shared language, inside jokes. When someone joins, they should feel like they found their people.

Why Communities Win

Higher trust. Lower churn. More referrals. Better feedback. Organic content.

Audiences scale linearly. Communities scale exponentially.

What You Should Do This Week

Pick one place where your customers already gather. If they don't, create that space.

Start one conversation. Ask one question. Introduce two people.

Don't broadcast. Facilitate.

Do that consistently for 90 days. You'll have a community.

Communities defend brands. Audiences just watch.

Did You Know?

AI can determine if someone has Alzheimer's years before diagnosis by analyzing how they move their computer mouse, detecting micro-hesitations invisible to human observation.

🗞️ Breaking AI News 🗞️

OpenAI launched an app directory within ChatGPT and opened app submissions to developers.

What's New

App directory in Chat's tools menu. Developer submissions now open through OpenAI Developer platform. Apps SDK still in beta.

What Apps Do

Apps extend ChatGPT by letting users take actions without leaving the chat. Order groceries, create slide decks, search apartments, book travel, play music, browse real estate, design graphics.

Major Platforms Integrated

Expedia, Spotify, Zillow, Canva. Now opening to broader array of developers. Approved apps launch throughout 2026.

Why OpenAI Is Doing This

Expand the app ecosystem. Increase user engagement. More apps = more reasons to stay on ChatGPT.

This is OpenAI's platform play. Not just a chatbot. An operating system for AI interactions.

What This Means

If your product could integrate with ChatGPT, this is distribution. Early integrations get visibility. Users discover apps through the directory.

For SaaS: new acquisition channel. For e-commerce: new point of sale. For services: new booking channel.

Over to You...

Are you building something that should integrate with ChatGPT's new app store?

Let me know what you're working on.

To new distribution channels,

Jeff J. Hunter 
Founder, AI Persona Method | TheTip.ai

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