OpenAI announced on Wednesday the launch of an app store where users can share personalized iterations of its popular chatbot, ChatGPT. This move is part of the artificial intelligence company’s strategy to broaden the accessibility of its flagship technology and transform it into a profitable venture. Termed the GPT Store, subscribers paying $20 monthly for OpenAI’s ChatGPT Plus service gain access to a variety of custom chatbots within the store, offering services ranging from book recommendations to math tutorials and scientific paper searches. OpenAI emphasizes that the store will assist users in discovering practical and popular versions of ChatGPT.
Previously established as a research lab, OpenAI is increasingly transitioning into a for-profit entity to compete with industry counterparts like Google. The GPT Store aims to evolve OpenAI’s technology into an online platform connecting businesses and customers. Over the past four years, Microsoft has invested $13 billion in OpenAI, contributing to the startup’s current valuation discussions that surpass $80 billion.
Experienced software developers have historically utilized the underlying technology, GPT-4, of ChatGPT to create diverse applications, including search engines and automated tutors. The GPT Store now caters to a new audience – individuals and small businesses lacking software development expertise, providing them with a means to distribute apps based on the same technology.
OpenAI has recently worked on enhancing ChatGPT, incorporating its DALL-E image generator into the chatbot in September. Additionally, a new version was introduced to facilitate interaction with users through spoken words, resembling Apple’s Siri. The company unveiled ChatGPT Team, priced at $25 to $30 per user monthly, offering businesses a private and secure chatbot experience while ensuring data privacy.
The GPT Store’s launch follows the introduction of a service in November allowing users to build customized chatbots named “GPTs.” OpenAI reports that over the last two months, three million tailored chatbots have been created, showcasing the store’s potential to expand the user base for services like ChatGPT Plus. OpenAI plans to share revenue with those contributing customized chatbot versions based on the usage frequency of each offering.
