My ChatGPT app has already been approved, but I can’t find it in the Apps directory. Our category is “Lifestyle,” but it doesn’t appear there. However, I can find it via search and use it without any issues.
Is this normal? After approval, how long does it usually take for an app to show up in the Apps directory?
Yeah, that’s definitely confusing, especially when everything looks “approved” on your end.
What’s happening here is that approval doesn’t automatically mean full placement in the category listings. The directory pages like “Lifestyle” only show a smaller, curated set of apps right now. So even after approval and publish, not every app shows up there immediately (or at all).
So the gap you’re seeing isn’t about timing as much as how visibility is handled. There isn’t a guaranteed “after X days it appears” flow for categories at the moment.
What you can do:
If you want a clearer breakdown of how this works, this doc is worth a quick read: “Submit and maintain your app” it covers publish state and distribution expectations.
This one trips up a lot of folks, so you’re asking the right question.
-Mark G.
I’m experiencing the same “issue” with my app—it’s published, but not visible in the general directory.
If I invite people to use the app and it shows some level of usage, is that a prerequisite for it to become visible?
I haven’t seen this mechanism mentioned in the official documentation, but it seems quite important.
This is a poor experience for both the developers and users. You should really improve communication around this, and generally be more transparent with how/when approved apps are surfaced.
Something changed recently. My app was searchable up until a week ago. Now it isn’t showing in search at all.
https://chatgpt.com/apps/na-drink-finder/asdk_app_6947349b4970819182bd4902c44a46a2
I had the same issue, it looks like chatGPT prioritizes some apps based on it’s own criteria to display.
For sure we need all clarity about these aspects and the criteria and rules needed to become visible. What is clear is that compared to what was announced in December, OpenAI has certainly prioritized other aspects over the past four months. We’ll see, with the broader development of the upcoming “super app,” how much effort will be put into promoting these integrations—and, above all, whether we’ll learn more details about monetization, which for now is practically stalled. I think that with the new model and the “code red,” it may in some way be eased if OpenAI takes charge of this enormous potential of apps within ChatGPT. At the moment there are 500 approved apps, and I’m sure many more are on the way. I’m confident that this growing ecosystem will soon be highlighted for the public and that developers will be given clear procedures to promote their own apps.
Hey folks, totally get why this feels off at first.
What’s happening is approval and directory placement are two separate things. An app can be approved and still not show in the directory right away. The directory is more selective, and most apps don’t get that placement at launch.
Here’s what we know so far: apps that show strong real-world use and good user satisfaction tend to get broader distribution over time. That can include directory placement or even being suggested proactively. There isn’t a way to request that though, it’s all signal-driven.
So if it’s only showing via search right now, that’s not a bug. It just means it hasn’t hit those signals yet.
What’s been working for others is driving real usage, gathering feedback, and iterating. As that builds, visibility can improve.
-Mark G.
Hello - can you please share the criteria? How are you deciding if an app has real world use? This information should be shared so that we developers can adjust our designs & ideas based on your criteria.
@OpenAI_Support that response doesn’t address my issue.
I was among the first 200 apps approved. I’ve never appeared in the directory, but until recently users could at least find my app (NA Drink Finder) by searching for it by name. Now it doesn’t surface in search at all. Meaning anyone without a direct link has no way to discover it.
This breaks basic promotion. I can’t tell users on social media to “search NA Drink Finder in ChatGPT” because the search returns nothing. An approved app that can’t be found by its exact name isn’t really launched.
A few direct questions:
Transparency here would go a long way. Right now the marketplace feels closed off to indie developers, which I don’t think is the intent.
Hi @Jonathan_Labs, right now there’s no published criteria for “real world use” beyond that phrase itself. It’s pretty broad. Most folks are just focusing on clear user value and repeatable use cases for now.
To @Tim_Katzgrau, looks like this is a different story. From what’s been shared, apps may drop from search if they’re inactive, unstable, or non-compliant. There’s also some flexibility to remove apps for legal or policy reasons.
But your case is unique since it still works via direct link. We checked and NA Drink Finder does show up on our end. Can you confirm if exact-name search is still failing?
Approved apps should be searchable by exact name or via the dashboard link, but there’s definitely a lack of clarity around visibility states right now.
If it’s still not showing, support@openai.com is probably the fastest way to get eyes on your specific case.
-Mark G.
Hi - with all due respect these are just buzz/fluff words and don’t mean anything to developers who are spending time and money building apps to improve ChatGPT. We need more guidance so that we can build better products. All other app stores publish their criteria and I hope that you will do the same.
Hi @Jonathan_Labs, totally get why that feels frustrating. If you’re investing real time and money, vague guidance just slows everything down.
I’ll pass this feedback along to the team as-is. The push for more transparent guidelines is definitely something being heard. In the meantime, threads like this help surface what’s missing, so it’s useful context for others too.
-Mark G.
The public app pages at chatgpt.com/apps/[name]/[id] are effectively invisible to Google as well!
A site:chatgpt.com/apps/[appname] query returns nothing, and when the URL does surface, the snippet is the generic Apps section default (“Discover and connect powerful apps like Canva, Photoshop, and Zillow…”). The pages are client-rendered with no app-specific title or meta description in the initial HTML, so Googlebot has nothing to index.
For approved apps that don’t get featured placement in the curated category lists, this means there is no second discovery channel either. The internal directory hides you, and the public URL doesn’t rank.
And what makes this even more frustrating, I had already set external backlinks pointing to my app page, assuming the landing page would behave like a normal indexable product page. That work is essentially wasted as long as the page returns no meaningful HTML to crawlers.
A proper fix would be SSR or at least pre-rendered per-app title and meta description tags. Right now the app pages have zero SEO value, which seems like a missed opportunity for both developers and OpenAI.