# App (ChatGPT)

> A connection between ChatGPT and an outside service, like your email, files, or calendar, so it can read live information and, if you allow it, act there.

**Category:** ChatGPT

**An app connects ChatGPT to a tool you already use.** Once connected, ChatGPT can search and read there, bring live information into a chat, and, with permission, take actions like drafting an email or updating a record.

An app **works as you**: it signs in with your account and reaches only what you can already reach. For each app you choose a permission: **Always ask**, **Allow read actions**, **Allow low-risk actions**, or, for some apps, **Allow all actions**. On Business, admins decide which apps the workspace may use, and app data is not used for training by default.

## At work

Connect your mail app on Always ask. Let ChatGPT find and summarise, and read every draft before anything goes out.

## Often confused with

A plugin. A [plugin](/glossary#chatgpt-plugin) is a package that can contain apps and skills; an app is a single connection.

## Related terms

- Plugin (ChatGPT)
- MCP (Model Context Protocol)
- Prompt injection

## See it in a lesson

[Connecting ChatGPT to your tools](/en/learn/chatgpt/working-smart/connecting-chatgpt-to-your-tools)

## Further reading

- [Connected apps in ChatGPT](https://help.openai.com/en/articles/11487775-apps-in-chatgpt): Connecting apps and the permission options.
- [Admin controls, security, and compliance for plugins and apps](https://help.openai.com/en/articles/11509118-admin-controls-security-and-compliance-in-apps-enterprise-edu-and-business): What admins control.
- [Developer mode and MCP apps in ChatGPT](https://help.openai.com/en/articles/12584461-developer-mode-apps-and-full-mcp-connectors-in-chatgpt-beta): Custom apps for technical users.

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Last updated: 14/10/2026  
Source: Rollo Academy glossary