OpenAI announced on Thursday, October 22, at its DevDay Exchange event in Seoul, South Korea, that ChatGPT subscribers can now use their subscription allowances in third-party applications. This update removes the requirement for separate API keys or individual billing setups for supported AI tools.
Known as Sign in with ChatGPT, the feature lets qualifying users link their accounts to external software and use the AI functions already bundled into their plans. The launch features 16 initial partners, including Notion, Vercel, and the AI coding assistant Devin.
How It Works
ChatGPT subscribers can log into compatible external applications through their existing OpenAI accounts. Once logged in, users separately grant permission for the app to tap into the AI usage covered by their subscription, eliminating the need to generate an OpenAI API key or set up distinct billing for supported requests.
External usage draws from the subscriber's standard ChatGPT limits instead of granting extra capacity, and users can restrict how much weekly usage each linked app consumes.
Availability and Restrictions
OpenAI first rolled out this capability for ChatGPT Plus and Pro users, alongside support for selected commercial partners and eligible open-source tools. Documentation from OpenAI also includes ChatGPT Go subscribers as eligible for sharing usage within participating commercial software.
Developers building commercial services or applications on remote servers must fulfill extra requirements, and broader availability stays restricted. External platforms may still bill separately for their own infrastructure, subscriptions, or services.
New ChatGPT Plugin Features
OpenAI also rolled out fresh options for developers to embed their services right inside the ChatGPT user interface. The updated plugin architecture lets applications run via dedicated workspaces, file-editing interfaces, and the ChatGPT side menu, allowing users to engage with outside services while staying inside the ChatGPT environment.
As an example, users can examine calendar meetings, take notes, and store documents in a shared ChatGPT Space where artificial intelligence agents and colleagues assist in checking details and finishing follow-up duties.
Developers can send in plugins for evaluation and decide the release timing following approval, while OpenAI demands testing materials and demo videos to check how they work.
Privacy and Security
OpenAI stated that logging into an outside app does not automatically grant access to user memories or ChatGPT conversations, as apps only gain basic account details and any extra permissions demand separate approval.
The firm additionally revealed Locked Chats, a tool that conceals chosen chats from the standard chat list, although Locked Chats lacks end-to-end encryption and leaves existing OpenAI data retention rules unchanged.
Lower Costs for Developers
The subscription-sharing framework may lower expenses for delivering AI features, especially during early user trials and product testing phases, since developers previously had to pay API costs themselves or ask users for separate billing details.
Albert Yip, who serves as OpenAI Head of Technical Success for Asia-Pacific, stated that the organization wants to assist users in finding developer-created goods and simplify the process for developers to find new users.
Even so, shared usage caps mean subscribers must monitor their consumption of AI capacity across ChatGPT and linked applications.
