OpenAI launches GPT Store for Chatbots

The novel product models enable the creation of Chatbot agents with distinct personalities or themes.

On Wednesday, OpenAI introduced the GPT Store, a platform enabling paid ChatGPT users to purchase and sell customized chatbot agents utilizing the company’s language models. OpenAI, known for its widely popular ChatGPT product that played a pivotal role in the AI boom, already provides personalized bots through its paid ChatGPT Plus service. The newly launched store expands the scope, allowing users to present and monetize a wider array of tools.

Utilizing the new models, chatbot agents can be crafted with distinct personalities or themes, encompassing models designed for tasks such as salary negotiation, lesson plan creation, and recipe development. OpenAI, in a blog post unveiling the launch, mentioned that over 3 million customized versions of ChatGPT have already been generated. Additionally, the company intends to showcase valuable GPT tools within the store on a weekly basis.

Often likened to Apple’s App Store, the GPT Store encourages broader AI development from various users, akin to Meta’s provision of chatbots with diverse personalities. Initially scheduled to debut in November, the GPT Store’s launch faced a delay due to internal disruptions at OpenAI. The company experienced internal upheaval late last year when Sam Altman was ousted as CEO by OpenAI’s board. However, he resumed the role a week later following a near-mass departure of employees.

The company, in a blog post, announced plans to introduce a revenue-sharing program in the first quarter of this year. This initiative aims to compensate builders based on user engagement with their GPTs, although specific details are yet to be disclosed.

In a recent email addressed to platform developers, OpenAI urged users to ensure compliance with usage policies and GPT brand guidelines for their chatbots. The company showcased various products in a press release accompanying the store’s launch, including offerings from Canva and AllTrails.

Access to the new store is granted to subscribers of premium services such as ChatGPT Plus and Enterprise. Additionally, a new subscription tier named Team has been introduced, priced at $25 per user per month. Team subscribers can create custom GPTs tailored to team requirements.

During its inaugural demo day for developers, Altman offered to cover the legal expenses for developers who might encounter issues with copyright law while creating products based on ChatGPT and OpenAI’s technology. OpenAI itself has faced multiple lawsuits alleging copyright infringement for utilizing copyrighted text in training its extensive language models. Altman stated in early January that creating ChatGPT without incorporating copyrighted material into the training corpus of the artificial intelligence would be “impossible.”

Released in November 2022 with modest attention, ChatGPT swiftly gained popularity among consumers, amassing 100 million users within a few months. OpenAI also develops the Dall-E image generation software, although it remains unclear whether the store will support custom image bots or exclusively bespoke chatbots.