OpenAI Sets the Stage: The Starting Point of the AI Application Boom? | [Jingwei Quiet Share]

Application-Layer Ignition: Is This the Moment?

In the early hours of October 7, 2025, OpenAI’s annual Developer Conference — Dev Day arrived right on schedule. Nicknamed by netizens as a “National Day gift”, this technology showcase revolved around the theme “helping people create better with AI”.

Behind the launches and updates was a clear industry shift: developers are now defining how humans and machines interact. From iterative suite upgrades to surprise product reveals, OpenAI once again expanded global perceptions of AI’s application boundaries.

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The Big Reveal: Apps Inside ChatGPT

The centerpiece was the debut of Apps Inside ChatGPT — the successor to the 2023 Plugin system.

Key change: the “jump-to-link” limitation is gone. Now, you can:

• Create PPTs directly in Canva within ChatGPT
• Play Coursera course videos in-chat
• Browse Zillow listings and get instant answers like “distance from this house to the nearest dog park” using integrated maps

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AgentKit: No-Code, Professional AI Tool Building

OpenAI introduced AgentKit — making no-code AI tool creation possible.

The suite includes:

• Visual Agent Builder
• Embeddable Chat Kit
• Upgraded Evals evaluation tool with four new capabilities

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API Layer Upgrades

• GPT-5 Pro — 400k context API for high-precision finance/healthcare scenarios
• Sora 2 / Sora 2 Pro APIs — 15-second video generation starting at $1.5
• Real-Time Mini voice model — 70% price drop to make voice interaction more accessible

Lowering barriers builds the foundation for application-scale creativity — potentially OpenAI’s biggest long-term play.

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Assembling a Conversational "Smart OS"

OpenAI is stitching together:

• Search (GPT Search)
• Agents (AgentKit)
• App Store (Apps in ChatGPT / Apps SDK)
• Content/Distribution (Sora App)
• In-conversation Transactions (Instant Checkout)
• Personalized Start (Pulse)

This early form hints at a conversational intelligent operating system.

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Key Takeaways from OpenAI Dev Day

Overall Impressions

• ChatGPT evolving from “gateway” to “OS-like platform”
• Launch of Apps in ChatGPT + Apps SDK, with submission and monetization directories coming — an App Store moment.
• From “model” to “agent & workflow platform”
• Release of AgentKit for orchestration, fine‑tuning, and enterprise-grade governance.
• Integrated commerce loop
• Instant Checkout (Stripe + Etsy, Shopify soon) links apps with e-commerce.
• Scaling demand and supply
• 800M+ weekly active users, API handling 6B tokens/minute, and a 6GW AMD compute agreement.
• The “daily start” race
• ChatGPT Pulse delivers personalized daily feeds; ads possible but not yet enabled.

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Product Release Highlights

Notable Announcements:

• Apps in ChatGPT: interactive in-chat apps from first partners (Booking.com, Canva, Coursera, Expedia, Figma, Spotify, Zillow). Built on MCP protocol.
• AgentKit: Agent Builder, ChatKit, Connector Registry, Guardrails for safety.
• Evals Upgrade: new scoring, prompt optimization, third-party eval support.
• Codex GA: coding agents with Slack integration, SDK, enterprise controls.
• Models: GPT‑5 Pro, Sora 2, gpt‑realtime‑mini voice, gpt‑image‑1‑mini.
• Agentic Commerce: Instant Checkout powered by ACP.
• Pulse: personalized morning brief using authorized data.

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Strategic Positioning: From Entry Point to System

Platform transition:

Apps SDK + directory + monetization turn ChatGPT into "micro‑app OS" — moving interactions from web clicks to embedded chat components.

Agentic shift:

AgentKit lowers enterprise deployment barriers with orchestration, control, governance, and front‑end integration.

Commerce integration:

Discovery → interaction → payment in one chat space boosts conversion and negotiation power.

Compute moat:

6GW AMD partnership supports parallel growth in apps, agents, and video workloads.

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Implications for Software Industry

• Distribution & transactions in chat — compresses the classic “search → click → register → pay” funnel.
• From API-first to agent-first — packaged, controllable production pipelines via AgentKit.
• New revenue models — subscriptions + GMV fees + app directory monetization.
• Scaled supply — developers access 800M+ weekly users during a platform reshuffle.

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The “Three Flywheels” Model

• Entry Flywheel — Apps in ChatGPT + Pulse forming daily habit entry points.
• Runtime Flywheel — AgentKit and Evals making agents operable and reliable.
• Transaction Flywheel — Instant Checkout + ACP bringing transactions into conversation.

Scale metrics: 800M+ weekly users, 4M developers, API at 6B tokens/min — platform-ready for ignition.

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Competitive Landscape

• Google — default search entry, Android/Chrome distribution, Gemini Apps.
• Microsoft — Windows/Office/Teams + Copilot + MCP adoption.
• Others — Facebook, Salesforce, WeChat offering comparable integrated ecosystems.

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Commerce & Settlement

• Powered by Stripe’s Agentic Commerce Protocol (ACP)
• Merchants retain payment/risk control systems
• No preferential ranking for instant-buy results
• Small transaction fee per completed sale

Open approach reduces "platform tax" compared to closed-loop app stores.

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Data & Consent

• Explicit permission statements for all Apps/MCP integrations
• Pulse allows user control over daily brief content
• Merchants and developers keep their systems and customer relationships

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Comparable Historical Cases

• Apple App Store — strong distribution & payment, but closed-loop; contrasting with MCP’s openness
• WeChat Mini Programs — social-as-OS model similar to ChatGPT’s global approach
• Facebook Credits — centralized payments later abandoned; ChatGPT avoids these pitfalls via ACP/Stripe
• Google AI Overviews — conversation + action gateway in search results
• Salesforce AppExchange — mature enterprise workflow store precedent

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AiToEarn: A Parallel Ecosystem Example

Platforms like AiToEarn illustrate how independent ecosystems can thrive alongside ChatGPT’s Smart OS model. AiToEarn:

• Generates AI content
• Publishes across Douyin, Kwai, WeChat, Bilibili, Xiaohongshu, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Threads, YouTube, Pinterest, and X (Twitter)
• Integrates analytics and AI model rankings
• Enables sustainable global monetization without single-platform lock-in

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Strategic Moment Assessment

We may be between Level 1 (traction) and Level 2 (structural inflection) — missing only:

• Consistent upward trend in app directory retention/recall
• In-session GMV growth post‑Shopify expansion
• High enterprise adoption of AgentKit with proven reliability gains

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Related Reads:

• Jingwei Ventures — Zhang Ying Internal Speech: 2024, Four Key Decisions
• Jingwei Ventures — Xu Chuansheng: Same Question Over Years
• Zhang Ying: 2025, Four Important Judgments

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Conclusion: Application-Layer Scalability Is Here

OpenAI’s integrated entry + runtime + transaction model, backed by scale and supply readiness, lays the groundwork for application-layer ignition.

Whether this becomes a super inflection point depends on adoption and monetization curves in upcoming quarters.

At the same time, open-source ecosystems like AiToEarn prove multi-platform reach and monetization will remain valuable — ensuring creators and developers can thrive beyond any single Smart OS platform.