Elyse Betters Picaro / ZDNET Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google. ZDNET's key takeaways OpenAI launched ChatGPT Apps earlier this week. You can connect to apps like Spotify and Canva within the chatbot. I put it to the test, and the results were mixed. Imagine if you could mesh ChatGPT's conversational capabilities with your favorite apps to create a more intuitive experience. With ChatGPT Apps, that future isn't far-fetched. At its largest developer conference yet, OpenAI DevDay, the company launched ChatGPT Apps, which, as the name implies, lets users access certain apps directly within the ChatGPT interface. At launch, these apps include Booking.com, Canva, Coursera, Figma, Expedia, Zillow, and Spotify, with 11 additional partners and developer submissions joining later in the year. Also: I'm an AI tools expert, and these are the 4 I pay for now (plus 2 I'm eyeing) This experience is just a glimpse of how ChatGPT might function in the near future, which Nick Turley, head of ChatGPT, told me may be more like an operating system. To see if ChatGPT Apps is really the future of ChatGPT (and whether or not that would be a good thing), I put some of the apps to the test. How to get started The ChatGPT Apps experience is open to all users, including those on the free plan. To get started, simply type the application name in the text box as the first word. Then, if it's your first time using that entry, you'll be asked to connect ChatGPT to your account for that application by signing in. Every time thereafter should be as simple as calling the application name and getting started. Also: You can now chat with third-party apps in ChatGPT - here's how Alternatively, you have the option to activate and set the apps up at once. Go to Settings, then Apps and Connectors. There, you can browse the apps to select the ones you are interested in. Once you do, you will be taken to the sign-in page for that app. You can also choose to deactivate any connection at any time from the same page in the Settings menu. Connecting your application does mean you are sharing your app data with ChatGPT. While helpful for personalization features, if you are concerned about where your data is going, you may want to check OpenAI's notes about the app feature, which details the data protocols: "Data shared with apps is handled according to each app's terms of service and privacy policies, which you'll see before enabling the app." Now that you are set up, let's get started with testing. Creating with Spotify and Canva Spotify Since the emergence of generative AI, we have been relying on the technology primarily to create new content, such as text messages and images. As a result, it was only natural that some of the app integrations, including Spotify and Canva, in ChatGPT serve the same purpose. Also: Everything OpenAI announced at DevDay 2025: Agent Kit, Apps SDK, ChatGPT, and more I was most excited to try the Spotify integration, which, ideally, should let you describe the type of playlist you want curated and have it created for you. While Spotify has a similar feature in its own app, I was really hoping this one would be better, as Spotify's AI often misses the mark by selecting songs that feel somewhat arbitrary. Spoiler alert: ChatGPT's integration did the same thing. In my first prompt, I asked the bot to create a playlist based on what I have been listening to as of late: "Spotify Can you create me a list of all of Taylor Swift's songs about having a crush on someone? Perks if it includes tracks from The Life of a Showgirl." Also: This new Google Gemini model scrolls the internet just like you do - how it works The resulting playlist, which ChatGPT produced quickly, included 30 songs, but not all of them fit the theme. Some highlights included "marjorie," which Swift wrote about her grandmother who passed away, and "All Too Well (10-minute version)," which is the ultimate breakup anthem. Ouch. The next prompt I entered explored the tool's personalization capabilities, which allow it to create a new playlist based on your Spotify activity. For this prompt, I entered: "Spotify Can you make me a new playlist based on my 'Roadtrippin with you' playlist? The vibe is that we both have different music tastes that we want to share with each other, so we try to encapsulate our music tastes. Also, no sad songs, we want to sing along and vibe ideally." Also: Amazon takes shots at ChatGPT with Quick Suite - your new AI 'teammate' at work The result was a playlist that featured basic popular songs, which didn't reflect my taste (which is basic, but in a different way, as you can see from my Taylor Swift example), or the other person's taste, which is much more unique (think Indie but in a random-songs-Spotify-serves-you kind of way). Canva My experience with Canva was much more straightforward. Since I am writing this article on NYC's first day of 50-degree weather, my prompt was: "Canva Can you make me a poster that says, "It is officially fall in autumn in NYC. Come over to watch a fall classic: When Harry Met Sally" and add fall foliage decor. It's an invite I am going to send to my friends to come over." Screenshot by Sabrina Ortiz/ZDNET At a glance, the posters seem pretty on theme. However, upon closer examination, it becomes apparent that the AI-generated images feature warped text. The AI also took creative liberties by adding more verbiage that I didn't initially include. While the content wasn't in a state where I could just export it, it was extremely helpful that I could open the project in Canva. There, you can tweak what you need and export, which is better than having to start from scratch. Using AI to help with browsing on Expedia and Zillow Zillow Out of all the demos I saw at DevDay, the Zillow one stood out to me the most because it utilized AI for a practical application: help with sorting. In the demo, the user was able to find homes and then filter those results simply using a text prompt. For my testing, I recreated the same experience for myself. Also: ChatGPT Pulse works overnight to produce personalized morning updates for you - how to try it For my starting prompt, I entered: "Zillow Can you help me find apartments in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, NY?" It immediately populated the same map you see on the Zillow website after running a search. I followed up by asking to keep apartments under $2,000, and it automatically filtered down. You can also expand to full screen, which makes for a more comfortable viewing experience, even within ChatGPT's window. Screenshot by Sabrina Ortiz/ZDNET As someone who just spent three months on Zillow trying to find a new apartment, I found this feature extremely helpful because it saved me from having to Google the website, then tweak the toggles for the area and specifications, and then run the search. Although this effort involves only a couple of steps, using AI creates a more seamless experience, especially since you can follow up by asking related questions using ChatGPT. Expedia The experience with Expedia was nearly identical to that of Zillow. Expedia described the partnership as "Expedia intelligence, built into ChatGPT," which is actually very accurate, as this application utilizes ChatGPT as an easier filtering mechanism and also features interactive prompts, making it extra engaging. Also: The fastest growing AI chatbot lately? It's not ChatGPT or Gemini For example, my first prompt was "Expedia Help me find places to stay in upstate New York for this weekend. I would like to be near Woodstock." Not only did it provide me with a map that included a lodging option, but it also followed up with a series of questions I would want to consider when planning this trip, such as budget and proximity to activities. Screenshot by Sabrina Ortiz/ZDNET I followed up by asking the AI to help me book flights, and a really convenient perk was that it already knew I lived in NYC, so it considered that factor and immediately populated flights. This is a prime example of utilizing AI to enhance an existing experience, leveraging ChatGPT's memory feature to unlock new opportunities that help shoppers find what they need. Screenshot by Sabrina Ortiz/ZDNET The verdict ChatGPT Apps has the potential to bring meaningful experiences to users. However, developers will need to leverage generative AI capabilities to enhance the existing offering. Want more stories about AI? Sign up for AI Leaderboard, our weekly newsletter. For example, on Zillow, the ChatGPT integration makes it easier to access the search results you need. Similarly, the Expedia integration makes it significantly easier to find what you want by directly asking and even receiving follow-up questions, just as a travel agent would. However, the Spotify feature is a good example of adding AI to solve an issue that isn't really there, and that isn't executed properly. Also: Welcome to 'age of frumpy but functional AI,' says Forrester Ultimately, the success of Apps will depend on how developers choose to integrate their tools on the platform. However, it is safe to say that, given the positive interactions, ChatGPT could serve as an OS that people will want to use.