OpenAI’s Nick Turley on transforming ChatGPT into an operating system (techcrunch.com)

OpenAI’s head of ChatGPT, Nick Turley, is pushing to transform ChatGPT from a chat interface into an “operating system” for AI-powered apps — a platform where third-party applications are part of the core experience rather than optional plugins. Drawing lessons from web browsers as de-facto OSes, and reportedly pairing software work with a browser and hardware efforts (including designers from Apple’s era), OpenAI aims to leverage ChatGPT’s 800 million weekly users to host apps from Expedia, DoorDash, Uber and others, enable richer interactive experiences beyond simple chatbots, and turn the product into an e-commerce and distribution layer for services and eventually AGI. Technically and commercially this is significant: OpenAI is reworking developer access, privacy controls, and UX to support in‑app transactions, app placement, and fine‑grained data sharing. Developer guidelines require apps to request only the “minimum” data; Turley floated partitioned memory and explicit permission affordances (à la iOS one‑time/shared access) to let users expose only relevant conversation fragments to apps. Open questions remain around ranking/promoted placements, data governance, and platform moderation — all of which will shape incentives for developers and the balance between commercial scale and OpenAI’s stated AGI mission. If successful, the shift could create a new app ecosystem centered on conversational workflows rather than traditional native or web apps.