OpenAI’s Commerce and Apps Efforts Divide Consumer Firms

In October, Thumbtack, a firm that helps people book home services professionals, agreed to make its app available through ChatGPT, as have a number of commerce firms eager to reach the chatbot’s 800 million weekly users. But Marco Zappacosta, Thumbtack’s CEO, isn’t worried that ChatGPT will replace his own app.

“Booking a car on Uber is incredibly efficient as a user experience. Right now, it’s still clunkier to do that through a chat interface. Ditto ordering your groceries through Instacart, or dinner through DoorDash, or hiring a plumber through Thumbtack,” said Zappacosta, adding that he expects the user interface to improve as AI agents become more widely adopted. Still, the ChatGPT connection ensures that Thumbtack is “in the conversation,” he said.