The rise of the “platform trap”

OpenAI recently launched Sora 2, an AI video generator that produces realistic footage with accurate physics. It arrived with a TikTok-style social app that reached number one on the US App Store in 24 hours.

But the real story lies elsewhere.

Days later, OpenAI unveiled Instant Checkout in ChatGPT. Users can now buy products directly through the chat interface. No browser. No Amazon. No Google.

These aren't separate launches. They're part of one strategy.

What does it mean? Well, OpenAI isn't building just a chatbot. It's building the app for everything. 

 Top stories this week:

• Sora 2’s launch turns AI-generated video into social media, reaching the App Store’s top spot overnight.
• ChatGPT adds Instant Checkout, enabling shopping, payments, and product search, all without leaving the app.
• The rise of the “platform trap”. Every major AI company is building its own closed ecosystem for work, commerce, and creativity.
• Meta’s Business AI connects 700 million consumers with always-on sales agents across all Meta platforms.
• Microsoft’s Agent Mode boosts Copilot accuracy and brings fully autonomous AI agents into everyday productivity tools.
• Salesforce’s Agentforce aims for one billion agents by 2025, extending AI into every customer touchpoint.
• Google fights to protect $273 billion in ad revenue as users turn to AI assistants instead of search.
• The open web is at risk. Businesses that fail to integrate with AI ecosystems could disappear from the customer journey entirely.