ChatGPT is attempting something that's never worked before. If its newly launched app store takes off, it'll be the first global platform to do it without owning the hardware and OS layers, and the first new 'true consumer platform' since 2008.
A true consumer platform is a rare beast because it requires all of these things to happen at once:
1.) massive scale (1B+ users)
2.) incentivize third-party developers to make money or reach new users
3.) help users discover new experiences without leaving the ecosystem
4.) enable horizontal use cases
ChatGPT has all the ingredients in place minus the precedent.
Historically, successful apps platforms were always a Hardware + OS bundle. The marketplace was a reward for owning this layer. Every attempt at a new platform post Apple and Android markets in 2008 has been tied to a new piece of hardware that failed to reach "true platform" scale.
ChatGPT would be the first 'software-only interface' platform. It lives on top of existing devices but creates a new "entry point" for the internet that behaves like an operating system.
WeChat Mini Programs is the strongest precedent but it's confined to China. Facebook briefly looked like it might become this but didn't quite become a general-purpose platform.
This will also be the first time where the distribution model for apps might be more integrated/seamless than as discrete downloads. Additionally in ChatGPT, the AI might route you to new apps that you may not be aware of depending on the query. ChatGPT Login could let us instantly create accounts for new apps with the chatbox. Both constitute distribution advantage.
Conversely, the distribution advantage will incentivize ChatGPT to build/control its own stack to avoid the 30% Apple/Google tax and thereby breaking the mobile OS duopoly.