How to Launch Apps in ChatGPT: A Strategic Guide for Innovative Brands

1. Why ChatGPT Apps Matter for Brands

ChatGPT is no longer just a chatbot; it’s becoming a new interface layer between people and the web. Picture a user looking for travel inspiration. Instead of opening multiple browser tabs, they ask ChatGPT — and your app can appear inside that conversation, ready to help.

Your brand can surface contextually, be called up by name, and deliver rich, interactive experiences without anyone ever leaving the chat. It’s like moving from the edge of the conversation to the center of it.

1.1 From Attention to Utility

Traditional marketing was built on capturing attention: fight for clicks, chase impressions, win the algorithm.
Inside ChatGPT, that game changes. You’re no longer competing to be seen. You’re competing to be useful.

1.2 Why Early Movers Win

The first brands to experiment will collect usage data, learn how conversational UX works, and position themselves strategically before the App Directory opens. In other words, early action compounds. For a deeper look at how AI is reshaping marketing, read our article on AI marketing.

2. Laying the Strategic Foundation Before You Build

The biggest opportunities don’t start with code.
They start with rethinking your business, your brand, and your role in the conversational ecosystem.

At Brandsome, we help teams lay that foundation before a single line of code is written. This is where strategic design meets emerging technology.

2.1 Rethink Your Presence

In our workshops, we help teams map where their brand fits naturally into user conversations. We translate value propositions into conversational use cases and define a clear strategic role inside the ChatGPT ecosystem. This isn’t about spinning up a chatbot. It’s about reframing how your business creates value in a new interface.

2.2 Scan the Market for Inspiration

Through targeted market research, we identify what leading brands are already doing with ChatGPT apps and where gaps exist in your sector.
We often combine this with market validation techniques to test early assumptions quickly.

2.3 Research Use Cases Before You Build

Before development begins, it’s essential to define and validate use cases clearly. OpenAI recommends:

• Collecting positive prompts (what users will say to trigger your app)
• Identifying indirect intents (when users don’t know your app yet)
• Defining negative prompts (what shouldn’t trigger the app)
• Scoping a “minimum lovable feature” — the simplest, most valuable use case to launch first

We integrate this process directly into our strategy work. By mapping conversational tasks and priorities early, your development team starts with clarity instead of guesswork.

👉 You can read OpenAI’s full Use Case Planning Guide for more detailed developer references.

2.4 Identify Growth Opportunities

ChatGPT apps can unlock new acquisition channels through contextual suggestions, improve user journeys, or act as MVPs to validate new offerings.
This is where strong go-to-market strategies make the difference.
For more inspiration, explore how to build a demand generation strategy.

2.5 Translate Strategy into Action

We support your team or partners with concept briefs, MVP scoping, and AI-assisted prototyping.
We don’t build apps ourselves — but we ensure you build the right thing, quickly and intelligently.

3. Understanding ChatGPT Apps and the Apps SDK

Before planning your launch, it’s useful to understand what’s actually possible.

3.1 What Are ChatGPT Apps?

They’re mini interactive experiences that live inside ChatGPT conversations. Think Canva’s deck builder or Booking.com’s trip planner.
They can display cards, media, forms, maps, and even expand into fullscreen or picture-in-picture.

Users can discover your app contextually or invoke it by name — making your brand part of the conversation, not an external destination.

3.2 What Is the Apps SDK?

The Apps SDK is OpenAI’s developer toolkit built on the Model Context Protocol (MCP).
It allows developers to connect backend logic, design UI, manage permissions, and test inside ChatGPT.

• SDK currently in preview
• Apps are live for logged-in users outside the EU
• EU rollout is planned soon
• App Directory & monetization are expected later this year

👉 For European brands, this is the time to prepare strategically.

4. Designing, Prototyping & Launching Well

Once your strategy is clear, your development team or partner can move fast — but good design matters.

4.1 Follow ChatGPT’s Native Design Guidelines

OpenAI provides clear Design Guidelines to help apps feel native inside ChatGPT.
They emphasize simplicity, trust, and usefulness — for example, avoiding excessive marketing copy, keeping interactions efficient, and designing UI components that blend naturally with the chat flow.
We use these as strategic input early on, to ensure your app feels right before a developer touches code.

4.2 Start Small and Test Early

When prototyping:

• Pick one valuable, high-impact use case.
• Design for conversational utility, not website navigation.
• Use Developer Mode early to catch UX issues.
• Keep permissions transparent.
• Think ecosystem — your app will likely coexist with others.

👉 Technical teams will often rely on an MCP server to connect backend systems. OpenAI’s MCP Server Guideexplains how apps talk to ChatGPT through a standardized protocol — something your dev team or partner can follow.

4.3 Plan for Deployment and Scaling

Once the MVP works, developers will move to hosting and deployment. OpenAI’s Deploy Guide outlines recommended practices for performance, reliability, and app directory readiness.
For brands, this means preparing analytics, feedback loops, and privacy compliance in parallel so you’re ready to grow fast.

5. The EU / Belgian Advantage

If you're based in Europe, you're in a unique position.
While EU end users can’t access apps yet, developers can already build and test. This gives you a head start to:

• Prepare GDPR & legal frameworks
• Adapt UX for multilingual contexts
• Time your launch with the EU rollout

This isn’t just a technical edge — it’s a storytelling advantage. Being the first mover in Belgium or the EU can give your brand lasting visibility.

6. From First Test to Growth Channel

Many brands are now using 4–8 week sprints to get their first ChatGPT app live. A typical roadmap looks like this:

1. Strategize – Align teams and map opportunities.
2. Validate – Research, user mapping, prompt sets, concept briefs.
3. Prototype – Build MVPs with partners, test in Developer Mode.
4. Launch – Coordinate rollout and directory timing.
5. Grow – Optimize UX, track usage, expand use cases.

The goal is to launch something useful fast, learn from real interactions, and scale strategically. Over the following months, your app can evolve into a powerful acquisition and service channel.