AI Gold Rush - ChatGPT's New GPT Store Launches with a Staggering 3 Million AI A...

On January 10, OpenAI introduced the “GPT Store,” a new app store featuring 3 million apps. These apps are customized versions of the well-known ChatGPT chatbot.

To put that in perspective, Apple took over 5 years to reach one million apps in 2013 after launching in 2008 with just 500 apps. GPT Store launched with 3 million apps on day one. 

GPT Store offers specialized apps developed using the general AI chatbot ChatGPT, catering to specific, niche requirements.

Why it matters

Instead of having to crawl the web looking for AI apps that help you be more productive you can now easily find them all in one place inside the GPT Store. 

If you want to make money from creating an AI app built on ChatGPT you can publish it and get discovered in the ChatGPT store.

For OpenAI, it means they have unlocked a new revenue stream and business model that could in the future rival (or surpass) Apple’s app store that generates $78 billion a year. 

Going deeper

So in taking a closer look at the new GPT store there are 3 parties that benefit from this new platform.

1. OpenAI – This new GPT store will potentially generate billions in revenue a year for OpenAI.
2. The Developers of the AI apps – They now have a one stop store that can generate revenue from selling their AI created apps built using the ChatGPT chatbot.
3. Consumers – The average “consumer joe” or business can use these apps to scale their business using AI to create content at scale, create videos and images from text and much more.  They benefit from smart scaling of ideas, content and productivity.

OpenAI’s potential revenue opportunity is staggering

OpenAI is copying Apple’s proven app store business model, as evidenced by Apple’s impressive app store revenue of $78 billion in 2022.

The launch of OpenAI’s new GPT store with 3 million apps indicates a strong revenue potential, which could eventually exceed Apple’s. This is due to the fact Apple took five years to reach 1 million apps.

The App creators gold rush has just begun

In 2023, the app creators in the Apple store were estimated to be making a collective $1.1 trillion in billings and sales. The potential revenue is in the same order of magnitude for the developers/creators that have their apps on the GPT Store platform. 

The opportunity for app developers with OpenAI’s ChatGPT technology surpasses that of Apple’s platform due to the velocity and simplicity with which developers can create apps. This combination of quick development and ease of use significantly reduces the time and effort required to bring ChatGPT apps to the market.

It seems that most of the apps in the GPT Store are free, but if you want extra features then you need to start paying a subscription. This business model follows the “freemium” tactics that became popular as the Web proliferated globally.  

Users have access to 3 million apps in one place

The app users now have one portal for easy discovery of Apps that will help them be much more productive and hopefully more intelligent.

The ChatGPT store has access to what is estimated to be over 2.1 billion annual users of ChatGPT. These can be segmented into 2 camps. 

1. Small business and the consumer sector. 
2. Large corporate clients such as Fortune 500 companies.

We can access the power of all the tools to increase productivity, scale content creation (including video, text and images), write proposals, respond to emails, create marketing strategies and much more.  

What’s the ChatGPT business model?

The big question now is “How will OpenAI make money from its GPT store?”

To give us a clue let’s look at the Apple store as a template for exploring the opaque business model of the GPT Store. 

Level One Revenue: Access

For the consumer who wants to get a ChatGPT app you need to be a paid subscriber at $20 a month. On the other hand, Apple provides free access to the App store.

So for ChatGPT there is an increased incentive for users to pay $20 a month.

For theChatGPT developers who want to build an app you also need access to the paid $20 a month premium ChatGPT app. 

Level Two: Commission 

Apple charges $30% commission for every sale of a paid app in its App store. That’s how they make $78 billion a year.

But during the November 2023 DevDay event, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said that the GPT Store would “pay people who build the most useful and the most used GPTs a portion of our revenue.” 

At this stage this is where the revenue sharing model stands. “In Q1 we will launch a GPT builder revenue program. As a first step, US builders will be paid based on user engagement with their GPTs. We’ll provide details on the criteria for payments as we get closer. ”

At this stage the revenue sharing model is very opaque.

Last words

The ChatGPT store offers new blue sky opportunities for both developers and OpenAI in terms of revenue and global brand exposure.

The Apple “App” store history over the last 15 years reveals the money making potential for Open AI and its app developers.

The most interesting insight is that the speed of AI technology and its rapid acceptance might make Apple’s app store look a bit underwhelming. 

It can be summed up with one word: Velocity.  

The data tells us that ChatGPT went from zero to 100 million users in less than 2 months from its launch in 2022 and the ChatGPT Store reached 3 million apps at opening day on January 10, 2024.

The future for AI, ChatGPT, and its mothership OpenAI will set new records.  And humanity will never be the same again.