From a reply to an interactive tool
According to the Last Week in AI channel, ChatGPT plugins are gaining richer interfaces that behave more like applications. Andrey Kurenkov and Jeremie Harris discuss the change in podcast episode 259, recorded on September 30, 2026. Instead of describing every result in a message, an application can offer a dedicated panel alongside the conversation.
The episode mentions file viewers and plugin-creation tools. A panel can keep a document, design or other working surface visible while the user continues talking. The channel connects this with existing services such as Slack, SharePoint, Airtable and Google Drive: the aim is to bring useful parts of an application into the same working context.
What the panels can show
The official DevDay example shows Canva’s plugin interface in ChatGPT’s sidebar. It combines a conversation with visible design choices. The announcement also presents improved creation, submission and discovery of plugins, including cards for services such as Figma and Shopify.
The podcast describes this as a different way to interact with software. Some tasks suit a short written request; others benefit from buttons, previews and visible choices. The channel also considers a future in which booking services or design tools can be used through one interface while retaining the controls needed for the task.
Events can start an automation
Another part of the announcement links MCP Events with automations. MCP, the Model Context Protocol, is a way for AI applications and tools to exchange information. An event can provide the trigger for a workflow instead of waiting for a person to start a new conversation.
Kurenkov and Harris place these features within a wider period of product experimentation. The direction is toward an AI workspace that combines conversation, application interfaces and work triggered by events. The episode discusses this direction without treating every software task as something that must be done through text.
