Two months after announcing Custom GPTs, OpenAI delivered on the promise: the GPT Store launched January 10, 2024.

It was the App Store for AI—discover, install, and use custom AI assistants created by anyone. And creators could earn money based on usage.

The AI platform economy was officially live.

How It Worked

For users: Browse categories, find GPTs for specific tasks, install with one click For creators: Build Custom GPTs, list in Store, earn based on engagement For OpenAI: Platform fees, ecosystem growth, stickiness

The model mirrored Apple's App Store success.

Launch Categories

The Store organized GPTs into sections:

• Trending: Most popular GPTs
• By ChatGPT: OpenAI's own featured GPTs
• Writing: Content creation assistants
• Productivity: Work and organization tools
• Research: Analysis and investigation helpers
• Programming: Coding assistants
• Education: Learning and teaching tools
• Lifestyle: Personal interest GPTs

Millions of Custom GPTs were available from day one.

The Creator Economy

OpenAI introduced revenue sharing:

• Creators earn based on GPT usage
• Payment tied to engagement metrics
• Initially US-based builders only
• Gradual global expansion planned

This created incentives for quality, useful GPTs.

Where Are They Now?

The GPT Store continues growing, though usage concentrates heavily on top GPTs. Most creators earn little, following typical platform economy patterns.

The real impact: GPTs legitimized the idea of specialized AI assistants for specific tasks, not just one general chatbot.

January 10, 2024 was when AI assistants became an ecosystem, not just a product.