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The Test:
ChatGPT Apps: Testing Zillow Inside the ChatGPT Ecosystem
What We Tested
We ran a simple test using the new Zillow ChatGPT App, one of the first five released (alongside Expedia, Spotify, and others).
The goal was to see what happens when a brand experience lives entirely inside ChatGPT — no websites, no ads, no lead forms, no retargeting pixels. Just a conversation.
I tested it by pretending to look for an investment property in Key West, Florida.
My prompt was simple: “Find a two-bedroom investment property in Key West under $1M, with rental history, close to Duval Street.”
The app instantly connected to Zillow and started surfacing listings — all within ChatGPT. No clicking out. No website visit.
Why We Did It
OpenAI’s latest round of announcements didn’t just drop new features — it quietly reshaped what “search” and “lead generation” will look like in the next 18 months.
Most people have been focused on the flashy stuff — video and image generation. Impressive, sure. But the real breakthrough came with something most marketers haven’t even started thinking about: ChatGPT Apps.
Watch Our Test In Action
What We Learned
Search Has Left the Website
Everything happened inside ChatGPT. No Google. No realtor site. No ad impressions. Just me, my prompt, and a Zillow-powered experience.
This eliminates:
Website traffic
PPC opportunities
Retargeting windows
That’s a massive shift for marketers who’ve built entire funnels around “website visits” and “form fills.”
AI Apps Collapse the Research Process
Normally, when I research properties, I bounce between multiple sites: Zillow, mortgage calculators, rental rate tools, comp databases, and insurance estimators.
Here, I stayed inside ChatGPT.
It gave me mortgage estimates, insurance ranges, property management costs, and even suggested target renter personas — like traveling professionals and remote workers.
I didn’t have to hunt for the info. I just asked.
ChatGPT Is Becoming an Operating System
This experiment makes it clear:
OpenAI wants ChatGPT to be the operating platform for your digital life.
You’ll live inside this ecosystem.
You’ll add apps the way you add browser extensions or phone apps.
Ads will eventually appear here — probably promoting apps, not keywords.
For businesses, this means the next marketing channel won’t be Google or Meta. It’ll be ChatGPT’s App Store.
The Big Takeaway
By mid-2026, every serious company will need a strategy to:
- Build or integrate a ChatGPT App
- Prepare for conversational search
- Rethink lead generation beyond Google and social media
If ChatGPT becomes the default environment for how consumers search, compare, and decide, then your website becomes a secondary touchpoint — not the starting one.
The ground is shifting under marketers right now. Most haven’t noticed yet.