ChatGPT enters home services with Thumbtack partnership

Home services platform Thumbtack, which helps consumers find and connect with contractors, is among the first companies to develop an app that will work directly within ChatGPT. 

What’s happening: “ChatGPT users with Free, Pro, and Plus accounts will soon be able to seamlessly ask home questions and discover, connect with, and hire skilled professionals from Thumbtack’s trusted marketplace — all without leaving the ChatGPT experience,” the company said Monday. 

Why it matters: The move comes amid a shift in consumer search behavior, with ChatGPT — though still a ways away from Google — counting 800 million weekly active users, according to parent company OpenAI, up from 500 million in March. Thumbtack’s network spans roughly 300,000 local service businesses nationwide.  

Catch up quick: OpenAI on Monday introduced a new feature, allowing companies to build apps within ChatGPT, with an initial set of apps, including Spotify and Zillow, already available. 

• Consumers can ask ChatGPT to engage certain apps for tasks, or the answer engine may suggest one when relevant — surfacing Zillow when discussing a home purchase, for example. 

Zoom in: Thumbtack is the sole home services partner among 11 additional companies — along with Uber, TripAdvisor, and DoorDash — whose apps will be similarly integrated later this year. 

• The partnership “builds on a successful research preview with OpenAI’s autonomous agent, Operator, which performed tasks like finding and contacting professionals on behalf of ChatGPT Pro and Plus users,” Thumbtack said Monday. 
• “With this next phase,” it added, “OpenAI is embedding Thumbtack’s Partner Platform directly into ChatGPT, marking a deeper integration of services into conversational AI.”

What they’re saying: “By providing access to Thumbtack directly in ChatGPT, we will meet homeowners where they already seek advice and turn conversations into action,” said Michael Kim, Thumbtack’s VP of Business Development, in a statement. 

• “This partnership represents a major step forward in bringing AI-powered convenience to everyday life, and helping even more homeowners get projects done.”

What’s next: The integration will launch later this year, though a date wasn’t specified.