OpenAI declares 'code red' for ChatGPT as Google's Gemini advances
What's the story
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has declared a "code red" effort to improve ChatGPT, an internal memo seen by The Wall Street Journal revealed. The move comes as a response to the growing competition in the AI space, especially from Google. Altman said there's still work needed on the daily experience of its chatbot, including personalization features for users and increasing speed and reliability.
Operational changes
OpenAI's strategic shift and team restructuring
As part of this "code red" effort, Altman has delayed work on other products such as advertising, AI agents for health and shopping, and a personal assistant called Pulse. He also encouraged temporary team transfers to focus on improving ChatGPT. The company will have daily calls for those responsible for the chatbot's improvement. Nick Turley, OpenAI's head of ChatGPT, confirmed this new focus on X (formerly Twitter).
Financial hurdles
OpenAI's financial challenges and future projections
Despite its massive user base of over 800 million weekly users, OpenAI isn't profitable and has to raise funding constantly. The company is also spending more aggressively than its main start-up rival, Anthropic. According to its own financial projections, it will have to grow revenue to around $200 billion in order to turn a profit by 2030.
Model release
OpenAI's upcoming reasoning model and past challenges
In the internal memo, Altman noted that a new reasoning model OpenAI plans to release is ahead of Google's latest Gemini model. However, the company has struggled with balancing safety concerns about its chatbot with making it more engaging for users. Its GPT-5 model released in August disappointed some users due to its colder tone and difficulty answering simple math and geography questions.