#255: ChatGPT and the future of app discovery with Dan Shabtay, Co-Founder of Z2A Digital

The way app users discover, evaluate, and even build apps is starting to shift — and large language models are at the center of that change. As AI platforms evolve beyond chat and into full ecosystems, app growth teams are facing a new set of questions around discovery, distribution, and long-term strategy.

In this episode, we’re sharing an App Talks interview with Dan Shabtay, Co-Founder of Z2A Digital. Dan explores how the emerging app ecosystem inside ChatGPT is opening the door to a new wave of app creation — from no-code tools and solo entrepreneurs to entirely new user acquisition channels embedded directly within AI platforms.

Today’s topics include:

• Dan explains how ChatGPT is evolving into a platform with its own internal app marketplace, giving developers access to hundreds of millions of users without relying on traditional app stores.
• Entrepreneurs and creators can now build and publish functional apps without engineering teams, fundamentally changing who can participate in app development and how quickly new ideas can reach the market.
• Unlike iOS or Google Play, apps built inside LLM ecosystems immediately tap into an existing, engaged user base, reducing friction around discovery and distribution.
• Traditional user acquisition isn’t disappearing, but it is shifting. Classic channels will coexist with new LLM-based acquisition models, including potential in-chat placements and AI-native ad formats.
• Beyond IQ and EQ, adaptability becomes the defining skill for app growth teams navigating rapid, AI-driven change.

Links and Resources:

• Dan Shabtay on LinkedIn
• Z2A Digital website
• Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry

Quotes from Dan Shabtay:

“It’s the most efficient infrastructure ever that has been created for entrepreneurs.”

“For me as a business owner and as an entrepreneur, it’s a gold rush.”

“AQ is adaptability… you have to be adaptable to the high-paced technology that’s going on right now.”

Host

Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry since 2012