OpenAI’s Head of ChatGPT, Nick Turley, is steering the company toward transforming ChatGPT into a new kind of operating system built around third-party apps. Since joining in 2022, Turley has focused on commercializing OpenAI’s research, growing ChatGPT to 800 million weekly active users. Speaking at OpenAI’s annual developer conference near San Francisco’s Fort Mason, Turley said he envisions ChatGPT becoming “a platform that could change how people interact with software.”
Drawing inspiration from web browsers, he highlighted that ChatGPT could serve as a central hub for productivity, services, and commerce, where users might “write, code, or interact with goods and services” all within the app. OpenAI’s collaboration with Jony Ive on hardware and its interest in browser technologies further signal its ambition to create a broader consumer ecosystem.
Turley emphasized that this expansion would rely on developers and ethical data practices. Third parties will gain access to ChatGPT’s massive user base but must collect “only the minimum data required to perform the tool’s function.” OpenAI also plans to introduce “partitioned memory” and transparency tools to help users control data sharing. Addressing commercialization, Turley acknowledged the company may explore paid app placements but added, “At the end of the day, we want a great user experience.” He described ChatGPT as “the delivery vehicle” for OpenAI’s mission to ensure artificial general intelligence benefits humanity.