Bring Developer Revenue Sharing to ChatGPT Apps

 

ChatGPT already has apps.

 

OpenAI has introduced the Apps SDK, app submissions, and the ChatGPT App Directory, creating a new platform where third-party developers can bring specialized tools, data, services, and workflows directly into conversations.

 

Now ChatGPT needs the next layer:

 

A sustainable developer economy.

 

We ask OpenAI to introduce Developer Revenue Sharing for ChatGPT Apps.

 

The problem

 

AI-native services work differently from traditional websites.

 

A developer may provide valuable specialized data, recommendations, tools, workflows, or domain expertise entirely inside a ChatGPT conversation.

 

The user may never need to visit the developer's website.

 

They may never see an advertisement.

 

They may not want to create another account or purchase another monthly subscription.

 

That is a better user experience.

 

But the cost of providing the service does not disappear.

 

Developers still pay for databases, hosting, storage, APIs, compute, monitoring, authentication, development, maintenance, and other infrastructure.

 

This creates a structural problem:

 

As the ChatGPT experience becomes more seamless, traditional ways for third-party developers to monetize the value they provide may become less effective.

 

Without a sustainable economic model, many useful AI-native services may either require separate subscriptions, become filled with monetization friction, remain hobby projects, or simply stop operating.

 

What we are asking for

 

We ask OpenAI to establish a mechanism through which developers can receive compensation when their ChatGPT Apps create meaningful value for users.

 

The precise formula does not need to be dictated by this petition.

 

OpenAI could develop its own system using appropriate signals such as legitimate usage, user satisfaction, successful task completion, retention, quality, or other measures while protecting the platform from spam and abuse.

 

The principle is simple:

 

When a third-party developer creates measurable value inside ChatGPT, there should be a sustainable way for that developer to participate in the value they help create.

 

Unified billing should also be explored

 

Users should not need dozens of separate accounts and subscriptions just to access specialized services through ChatGPT.

 

We encourage OpenAI to explore unified billing models in which users can access third-party services through their ChatGPT relationship or integrated ChatGPT billing, with appropriate compensation flowing to participating developers.

 

This could complement direct developer monetization rather than replace it.

 

Why users benefit

 

Users gain access to more specialized and higher-quality services without unnecessary friction.

 

Instead of leaving ChatGPT, registering elsewhere, entering payment information repeatedly, and managing many subscriptions, users could access a broader ecosystem naturally through conversation.

 

Why developers benefit

 

Independent developers and small teams gain a viable path to maintain AI-native services that may otherwise be difficult to monetize.

 

That matters especially for specialized tools, niche knowledge services, open-source projects, data providers, and products that create substantial value but may never become large standalone SaaS businesses.

 

Why OpenAI benefits

 

A healthy developer economy gives developers a reason to build their best products for ChatGPT.

 

That can increase the diversity, quality, and usefulness of the ChatGPT App ecosystem.

 

More useful apps make ChatGPT itself more valuable.

 

This is not a request for OpenAI to pay every developer's expenses.

 

It is not a request for unlimited free infrastructure.

 

It is not a demand that every published app receive guaranteed income.

 

It is a request to build an economic layer alongside the technical platform that already exists.

 

Platforms become ecosystems when third parties can sustainably create value on top of them.

 

ChatGPT now has the beginnings of that platform.

 

We ask OpenAI to make Developer Revenue Sharing part of its future.