Last year, Sam Altman said this feature was highly requested by users
OpenAI might offer developers access to its APIs
OpenAI could gain visibility into its users’ third-party app usage
OpenAI is also asking app developers if they use any of its APIs
Photo Credit: Unsplash/Solen Feyissa
OpenAI published a form on Tuesday to understand if third-party app developers would prefer their users to sign in using ChatGPT accounts. If implemented, the San Francisco-based AI firm will become an identity provider (IDP) for third-party apps, and let them Open Authorisation (OAuth) via ChatGPT accounts. Notably, the company has already added a similar experience in its recently released Codex CLI platform. Based on the form, OpenAI is gauging interest from smaller apps with fewer than 1,000 weekly active users to larger apps with up to 100 million weekly active users.
OpenAI Is Trying to Become IDP for Third-Party Apps
The interest form is currently live on OpenAI's website. It seeks information such as details of the developer and the app, the app's AI monetisation model, weekly active users, and whether they already use the company's API to power AI features.
As mentioned above, OpenAI has already created a similar “Sign in to Codex CLI with ChatGPT” experience, where the users of the terminal can log into the platform using their existing ChatGPT accounts. The company highlights that it shares the user's name, email, and profile picture with the platform, but not the chat history.
Last year, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman mentioned in a post on X (formerly known as Twitter) that users had requested the OAuth feature, and the company was planning to build the capability. If the AI firm ends up offering the service to apps, it will join the ranks of Google, Apple ID, Microsoft Azure Active Directory, and Facebook.
This move can theoretically bring several strategic advantages to OpenAI as well. By letting users log into other apps with their ChatGPT account, the company can gain visibility into which apps and services its user base engages with and how. This will allow it to personalise ChatGPT or tailor the AI interaction accordingly.
Another potential benefit is that developers might also integrate ChatGPT into their apps, either as a sidebar offering (similar to Copilot and Gemini) or via API. This will ensure that users are spending more time within the OpenAI ecosystem.
OpenAI will also be able to establish itself as a trusted, secure, and central identity layer for AI-powered apps and build a more recognisable brand identity as a platform company. Additionally, if users use ChatGPT to log into other services, they are more likely to remain logged into ChatGPT, increasing user retention and stickiness for the company.
However, these are early days, and we will have to wait before OpenAI formally introduces its OAuth service with third-party apps before the company's larger vision becomes apparent.
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