ChatGPT is 49% owned by Microsoft
DreamstimeArtificial intelligence is about to have its App Store moment. OpenAI is launching a store for customized versions of its ChatGPT AI bot made by third-parties, following the trail blazed by Apple with smartphone applications.
OpenAI said the customized versions of ChatGPT will be called ‘GPTs’ and could be used for specialized purposes such as math tutoring or creating marketing materials.
It’s a big test for OpenAI, which is 49% owned by Microsoft (ticker: MSFT), as to whether offering customized AI models will help bring widespread adoption, almost a year after the initial launch of ChatGPT triggered a frenzy of excitement around the technology.
At the developer conference on Monday where the store was announced, OpenAI said that ChatGPT had more than 100 million weekly active users. It also unveiled a new AI model, GPT-4 Turbo, which it is offering at a lower price than its predecessor.
“OpenAI’s strategic pricing cements its de facto status as [the] standard for building AI applications, encouraging developers to innovate on top of a tried-and-tested platform rather than starting from scratch,” wrote Oppenheimer analyst Timothy Horan in a research note.
OpenAI said that it would launch the store later this month and developers would be able to earn money based on how many people were using their customized GPTs. However, it didn’t suggest that GPT creators would be able to set their own fees, which could limit its relative popularity compared with the Apple (AAPL) App Store.
For Apple, the launch of the App Store in 2008 helped cement its dominance in the smartphone ecosystem and has provided a huge source of services revenue. Apple said its App store facilitated $1.1 trillion in developer billings and sales in 2022, which it takes a cut from.
The race to become the main platform for consumer uses of AI is fierce between the Microsoft -OpenAI partnership and rivals such as Google-parent Alphabet (GOOGL). Apple is expected to spend billions on its own generative AI development.
With AI still in its early stages and, on occasion, prone to issues such as giving wrong information, OpenAI is taking a cautious tone about its ambitions for the GPT store. The company said the customized GPTs would eventually be able to take on tasks autonomously in the real world.
“We think it’s important to move incrementally towards this future, as it will require careful technical and safety work—and time for society to adapt,” OpenAI said in a statement.
Write to Adam Clark at adam.clark@barrons.com
