OpenAI is expanding ChatGPT plugins into app-like experiences, with interactive panels, a dedicated home in the sidebar and new ways to trigger automations. The shift gives developers more room to bring their tools into the conversation, rather than asking users to hop between chat and another interface.
OpenAI Watch analysis
What happened
At its Dev Day presentation on Tuesday, OpenAI said developers can build plugin extensions for ChatGPT. TechCrunch reports that apps will have a dedicated place in the sidebar, with interactive panels and file viewers that let people work with connected tools while chatting. The company also said ChatGPT Sites can host plugins, which users can share with colleagues who connect their own data and permissions. Read TechCrunch’s report.
OpenAI says it is introducing a Plugin Creator tool and a redesigned submission flow for its directory. It has also improved how plugins are ranked and recommended, and says users can approve each plugin’s access needs individually. Support for the proposed MCP Events specification is intended to let plugins start automations when something happens in a connected app.
Our top picks
- Interactive panels in chat
Developers can give users a working interface for their tools without sending them out of the conversation. - A home in the sidebar
Plugins get a dedicated place in ChatGPT, making them easier to find and return to. - Automations triggered by app events
OpenAI says MCP Events support will let plugins start actions when events occur in connected apps. - Individual access approval
Users can approve a plugin’s access needs separately, rather than treating permission as one blanket yes. - Shareable plugins through ChatGPT Sites
Sites can host plugins for colleagues, who can use them with their own connected data and permissions. - A clearer route for developers
A new creator tool and redesigned directory submission flow aim to make building and listing plugins easier.
Why it matters
This is a bid to make ChatGPT a place where people use software, not simply ask about it. If the approach works, developers could put useful tasks, data and interfaces in front of users without requiring them to leave the chat. Event-triggered automations also move plugins closer to doing work in the background, not just responding to a prompt.
That raises the stakes for discovery and permissions: a tool is only useful if people can find it, understand what it can access and decide whether to grant that access. OpenAI’s announcements describe the planned capabilities, but do not settle how well the directory will surface good tools or how the new permission controls will work in practice.
Our read
The strongest idea here is not another plugin directory. It is the attempt to make connected software interactive inside ChatGPT, with permission choices attached to individual tools. That could be a more natural way to use services people already rely on. It also makes the quality of discovery and access controls part of the product, rather than administrative footnotes. Developers should watch how the tools and permissions work once available; users should be wary of granting access they cannot explain back to themselves.
What to watch
- When developers can build and submit plugin extensions, and which features are available at launch.
- How OpenAI explains and presents plugin access requests to users.
- Whether MCP Events support becomes a practical automation tool or remains a feature for developers to wire up.
Discussion spark: Would you trust apps inside ChatGPT with access to your connected tools if each permission is approved separately, or should integrations stay outside the chat?
Sources and evidence
- OpenAI expands ChatGPT’s plugins with app-like interfaces and automations – TechCrunch (29 September 2026, 17:15 UTC)
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