According to The Wall Street Journal, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has issued a 'code red' directive to employees, prioritizing improvements to its flagship product, ChatGPT, while postponing other projects. In an internal memo sent on Monday, Altman emphasized the need to enhance the AI chatbot’s speed, reliability, and personalization capabilities.
This week marks the third anniversary of OpenAI’s launch of ChatGPT, which ignited worldwide interest and fueled a surge in the generative AI industry, securing the San Francisco startup an early advantage. However, the company is now contending with growing competition from rivals such as Google, which introduced Gemini 3, the newest iteration of its AI assistant, just last month.
On Tuesday, OpenAI did not promptly reply to a request for comment. According to tech news site The Information, a memo was also reported. Altman stated this fall that ChatGPT now serves over 800 million users each week. However, despite being valued at $500 billion, the company remains unprofitable and has pledged over $1 trillion in financial commitments to the cloud service providers and chip manufacturers that support its AI infrastructure.
Investor worries about a potential AI bubble have grown due to the risk that OpenAI may not generate sufficient revenue to meet the expectations of supporters such as Oracle and Nvidia.Nick Turley, OpenAI’s vice president and head of ChatGPT, shared on social media Monday that online search represents a major growth opportunity for the product, as the company works to enhance ChatGPT’s capabilities and make it more intuitive and personalized.
OpenAI earns income through premium ChatGPT subscriptions, while the majority of its users access the free version. In October, the company launched its own web browser, Atlas, aiming to rival Google’s Chrome as more people turn to AI for answers. However, unlike Google’s ad-driven search business, OpenAI has not yet pursued advertising on ChatGPT. According to the Journal, Altman’s memo indicated that the company is postponing development on advertising, AI tools for healthcare and shopping, and a personal assistant named Pulse.
