Apps in ChatGPT Explained: How To Use Canva, Spotify, Zillow, and More

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You can feel it the moment you open a fresh chat. The cursor blinks, you type a request, and a small card slides into view with a working map or a playable playlist. That is the feeling of these apps becoming part of the conversation, not something bolted on. This feature turns third-party services into teammates you can talk to, then click. If the old web was a maze of tabs, this is one clean hallway with doors that open when you ask.

This article cuts through the noise. We’ll explain what apps in ChatGPT are, how they differ from ChatGPT plugins, which ones you can use today, and how to put them to work. You will build a Canva deck in minutes, create a Spotify playlist without leaving the chat, and understand why this shift matters for developers and for users who just want things done.

1. What Are Apps In ChatGPT, The Shift From Tools To Teammates

Think of apps in ChatGPT as living interfaces. They are not just API calls that return text. They bring interactive UI right into your thread, so you can browse homes on a map, scrub a course video, or page through draft slides without switching context. If you have been wondering what are ChatGPT apps, this is the short answer. They are mini experiences that live inside the conversation and respond to natural language plus clicks.

1.1 Apps Versus Plugins At A Glance

Before, ChatGPT plugins felt like adapters. You asked a question, the model called a service, then pasted back a block of text or a link. Apps in ChatGPT go further. They render widgets, carousels, and fullscreen views directly in the chat. If you ask for homes in a price range, you do not get a list, you get Zillow with pins you can tap. If you ask for a design draft, you get Canva thumbnails you can open and edit.

Here is a quick comparison you can scan.

That change unlocks a different rhythm. You talk, the app shows a result, you refine. It feels like pair work with a colleague rather than an exchange with a search box. That is why people keep calling these apps the step from tools to teammates.

2. Which Apps Can You Connect To ChatGPT, The Launch Roster

At launch you can connect apps in ChatGPT from partners that cover design, music, travel, learning, and planning. You can call them by name or let the assistant suggest them when your prompt hints at a task.

• Canva: create and edit presentations, posters, and social graphics right in the chat.
• Spotify: generate and refine playlists then play them inline.
• Zillow: explore homes on an interactive map with filters you can change by typing.
• Booking.com and Expedia: plan travel with live options you can scan quickly.
• Coursera: watch course content and ask questions while the video plays.
• Figma: turn sketches into workable diagrams or spin up a FigJam board.

More partners are queued up, including Uber and OpenTable. The important part is not the list, it is that the list lives where you already think.

2.1 Who Should Try What First

• Creators and marketers: start with Canva in ChatGPT to ship visuals without bouncing between tabs.
• Music fans and event hosts: ask Spotify in ChatGPT to build a mood, then nudge it with one sentence.
• Shoppers and movers: type Zillow ChatGPT queries like “three bedrooms near a park,” then use the map that appears.
• Teams that whiteboard: try Figma for quick diagrams during a live chat.
• Learners: pop open Coursera to watch a clip, then ask the model to clarify what you just heard.

The roster will grow, and it will grow in the places you naturally work, which is exactly the point of this approach.

3. How To Use Apps In ChatGPT, Step By Step

People ask how to use ChatGPT apps and expect a settings tour. You do not need one. You can discover, connect, and interact in three short moves.

3.1 Discover And Invoke An App

There are two paths. The direct path is to call the apps in ChatGPT by name. Try “Spotify, build a party playlist for Friday, upbeat and clean.” The assistant will surface the card and start. The guided path is suggestion. If you are chatting about house hunting, a small prompt will offer Zillow. That is ChatGPT app integration doing a little matchmaking.

3.2 Connect For The First Time

The first time you use any partner, you will see a consent screen. It explains the data the app needs and asks for approval. Say yes and the connection is saved to your account. Next time it just works. If you want to connect apps in ChatGPT later, you can do it from settings without waiting for a suggestion.

3.3 Work With The App UI

This is where apps in ChatGPT feel different. The UI lives above the model response. Play a song, open a slide, expand the map to fullscreen, then keep talking to the assistant while the view stays open. The component updates when you refine your ask. You can say “filter to three bedrooms with a yard” and the map changes. You can say “make the deck calmer, pick one accent color” and Canva regenerates options.

3.4 Privacy And Control

You stay in control. Every app ships with a privacy policy and only requests the minimum it needs. You can disconnect any time. The model narrates results in plain language so you are never guessing what happened behind the card.

4. Hands On, Create A Presentation With Canva In ChatGPT

Nothing builds confidence like shipping a thing. Here is a fast path to a shareable deck using ChatGPT apps and Canva.

• Draft Your Outline In Chat
  Paste your bullet points or ask the assistant to sketch a structure. Keep slide titles short. Aim for three to five bullets per slide.
• Invoke Canva
  Say, “Canva, turn this outline into a 12 slide deck. Use a high contrast theme with one accent color.” That sentence is enough to pull Canva in ChatGPT into your thread with draft options.
• Pick A Starting Style
  You will see a couple of thumbnails. Click one. The deck opens in a fullscreen view. Leave the composer open so you can keep talking while you review.
• Tune The Visual Language
  Ask for changes in plain English. Try “Use a clean sans serif font. Add simple diagrams on slides 3, 7, and 9. Make callouts consistent.” The UI regenerates. No menu diving.
• Tighten Content With Conversation
  Ask the assistant to compress wordy bullets or to rewrite a title to be action driven. You are still inside apps in ChatGPT, so the text updates while the deck remains open.
• Add A Simple Diagram
  Say “Insert a three step flow on slide 5 with arrows,” and Canva drops a free shape diagram. You can nudge sizes or labels with follow ups.
• Check Accessibility Basics
  Ask, “Increase contrast where needed and set alt text on figures.” You can keep it in the chat. The tool makes the mechanical changes.
• Export Without Leaving The Thread
  When it looks right, tell Canva to export a PDF or a share link. You will get the file inline. That is the real promise of this model, the work stays in one place.

If you want a ready to copy prompt, try this variation.

“Canva, create a 20 slide presentation titled AgentKit Deep Dive using only free elements. Add a tiny header on each slide that reads Binary Verse AI. Give me clean layouts, one accent color, and simple icon diagrams. I will paste source text next.”

4.1 Step By Step, From Blank Page To Deck

• Start a new chat.
• Paste your outline.
• Call Canva by name with your request.
• Select a draft.
• Ask for edits in short sentences.
• Expand to fullscreen when you want to read flow.
• Export and share.

These steps capture the essence of how to use ChatGPT apps, which is to treat them like coworkers. Say what you want, then adjust.

5. Why This Matters, The Operating System Of Everyday Tasks

There is a strategic story behind the feature list. Apps in ChatGPT make the chat window feel like a universal front door. Instead of bouncing through apps and websites, you bring services to your words and stay in the flow. That pattern tends to win in computing. The interface that reduces friction becomes the place where work begins.

That shift creates tension for brands. If a traveler says “book me a hotel,” the assistant could suggest any partner. The risk is commoditization when everything looks like a card in one place. On the other hand, the upside is reach. Partners tap into hundreds of millions of active users and get guided discovery at the exact moment a user wants what they offer. Smart teams will lean into ChatGPT app integration with clear value that shows up on the card, not just a logo.

For developers, the Apps SDK rides on the Model Context Protocol. You define tools, return structured data, and attach a widget. The client renders your UI in a safe sandbox while the model narrates and routes. You own your backend and authentication. You ship once and show up anywhere ChatGPT runs. It feels like building for a new kind of runtime where conversation is the shell and apps in ChatGPT are the commands.

6. Availability And Cost, Can You Use It Now

You do not need a special plan to try apps in ChatGPT. The feature is rolling out to all logged in users on Free, Go, Plus, and Pro. The initial rollout began on August 28, 2025, in English, outside the EU. OpenAI has said EU support is coming. Launch partners are available in the markets where they already operate.
The short version is simple. If you can open ChatGPT, you can try apps in ChatGPT. If you are in a region where a given partner does not operate, you may not see that specific card. You can still explore other options and you can still build your own flows on the dev side.

7. Developer Corner, A Short Tour Of The Apps SDK

Building for apps in ChatGPT is straightforward if you have shipped any modern web app. You spin up an MCP server, declare a tool with a clean JSON schema, and register an HTML template that becomes your widget. Each tool response can include three parts.

• structuredContent, the data your UI needs. The client injects it as a small object. Keep it tight.
• content, the narrated text the model can quote or summarize.
• _meta, extra fields for your UI only. The model does not see them.

The client renders your component inline, suggests it when prompts match, and keeps the chat composer open even in fullscreen. You can allow the component to call tools on its own when it makes sense, like pagination or a map pan. You get localization hooks, status strings during tool calls, and a strict content security policy. From there you can layer in OAuth, storage, and telemetry, then submit for review when listings open. It is a familiar stack that shows up in a new place, which is the theme of this new surface.

8. Misconceptions To Drop Right Now

A few points keep coming up in threads, so let’s deal with them in one clean pass.

• This is not a rename of ChatGPT plugins. Those were mostly text tools. These come with living UI.
• You do not have to pre-configure everything. You can try an app by name, then connect on demand.
• The feature does not replace the open web. It shortens the path from intent to action.
• Suggestions are part of the experience, not ads you cannot control. You can decline and you can pick a different app.
• If you are still asking what are ChatGPT apps, think of them as micro experiences that borrow the best of websites while keeping the conversation at the center.

9. Closing, The Conversation Is The Interface

The internet trained us to hunt for buttons. Apps in ChatGPT let us use sentences again. Ask for a playlist and get a player. Ask for a deck and get slides you can open and edit. Ask for a place to live and get a map you can filter by typing. The future of software looks a lot like this, a small set of smart surfaces that show up at the exact moment you need them.

If you want a next step, try two tiny projects today. First, open a chat and use apps in ChatGPT to make a simple ten slide deck with Canva. Second, tell Spotify in ChatGPT to assemble a work mix based on three artists you love. You will feel the difference right away. And if you build, sketch an idea for a card your users would want to see inside a conversation. Then ship a first version that proves it.

The best interface is the one you do not notice. Apps in ChatGPT gets close. It respects your time, it keeps you in flow, and it turns the chat window into a real workspace. Let’s build into it, and let’s hold it to a high bar so the experience stays useful, fast, and human.