Recently, OpenAI announced that ChatGPT users will now be able to access certain apps without leaving the chatbot. This marks a new era of user functionality and shows that interaction with such chatbots is becoming truly distinctive. While critics argue that the Apple App Store is nearing its end, others believe the company could still turn the situation around with Siri.

Is the Apple App Store aging?

At the beginning of October, OpenAI unveiled major updates to ChatGPT’s interactivity — introducing a new generation of apps that can be invoked directly within conversations, either at the user’s request or when the system understands it from context. Among these are apps like booking.com, Spotify, Coursera, Figma, and Canva.

These updates act as a kind of glimpse into the future, where platforms like ChatGPT will seamlessly integrate a variety of apps — posing a risk to app stores such as Apple’s. And while the future remains uncertain, experts claim that company could remain competitive and preserve a vital revenue source from the App Store through Siri.

It’s also becoming apparent that the trend of tappable icons is fading in general, and that apps on the iPhone and other devices — which once resembled miniature desktop versions — are becoming a less common way for users to interact with many of these services.

Apple’s Potential in Competing with ChatGPT Updates

Globally, the company has around 1.5 billion iPhone users, while ChatGPT has about 800 million active users. Therefore, if Apple manages to successfully realize its vision for Siri, not all hope is lost.

Siri updates are still significantly delayed, but the company’s vision revolves around the plan “to kill the app icon without killing the app itself.” This means leveraging AI-driven computations that would fundamentally change how apps are used on the phone.

It signifies a move away from app-tapping toward more voice-driven commands. This vision is also supported by the fact that with the emergence of chatbots, users are becoming accustomed to asking for specific and direct AI assistant recommendations and insights.

Siri could do the same — play favourite songs or provide a list of recommended movies along with summaries.

It means that, iPhone users would experience smoother interactions when looking for answers — whether it’s a Google-style search query or a task that would traditionally require finding and opening an app before interacting with it. Such tools could open any installed app, for example, to check notes or view a reminder to wish someone a happy birthday — and actually do it.

Meanwhile, OpenAI’s new features still remain confined within the ChatGPT app — users will still need to open it, download integrated apps, and so on, which introduces various challenges in the early testing phase. On the other hand, while Apple has a strong ecosystem that iPhone users are deeply accustomed to, Siri still suffers from a rather poor reputation, meaning updates should be rolled out without delay.

Final Thoughts

Both the OpenAI and potential Siri scenarios illustrate the same trend — the traditional use of apps is evolving, and conventional methods are beginning to alienate users, as AI provides powerful and personalized ways to deliver answers and perform tasks much more simply and quickly. Apple’s vision for Siri, though delayed, shows that the company could still compete with the forward-thinking and trend-defining ChatGPT.

It remains unclear how iPhone users will respond to these changes since no real examples exist yet. However, this could encourage them to move from ChatGPT to the updated Siri, as in OpenAI’s case the app helps manage other apps, while in Siri’s case that might no longer be necessary.

If you are interested in this topic, we suggest you check our articles:

• Apple’s New Strategy: AI-Driven App Discoverability on the App Store
• In the Race of Virtual Assistants: Anticipated Apple Siri Upgrade
• Apple Intelligence: Updated iOS with AI-Powered Innovation

Sources: Mashable, OpenAI, TechCrunch