Sam Altman Declares "Code Red" for ChatGPT Improvements Amid Intensifying AI Competition

Competition among major AI developers has reached unprecedented intensity according to recent developments.

Sam Altman, OpenAI's Chief Executive Officer, is shifting internal resources to accelerate ChatGPT improvements, declaring a "code red" situation that will postpone work on other projects, according to sources familiar with the matter.

On Monday, Altman circulated an internal memo calling for a "surge" to enhance ChatGPT, revealed one source who requested anonymity due to the confidential nature of the information. The memo reportedly instructed staff to delay progress on other initiatives including autonomous AI agents and advertising, as initially reported by the Information. While Altman didn't explicitly detail which fixes needed prioritization or why, the Information noted he had previously cautioned employees that Google's AI advancements could create temporary economic challenges for OpenAI.

This development highlights the fierce competition among leading AI developers as the industry strives to demonstrate to investors that their substantial investments in AI technology will eventually generate profits. Last month, Alphabet Inc.'s Google released Gemini 3, an AI model that quickly garnered praise for its reasoning and coding capabilities, as well as its ability to handle specialized tasks that have historically challenged AI chatbots. Meanwhile, OpenAI directly challenged Google in October by launching its first AI-powered web browser.

When asked about Altman's memo, OpenAI declined to comment. However, Nick Turley, OpenAI's head of ChatGPT, confirmed the prioritization of the chatbot in an X post late Monday, stating that the company's focus is now "to keep making ChatGPT more capable, continue growing, and expand access around the world - while making it feel even more intuitive and personal."

According to one informed source, certain OpenAI employees are being reassigned from areas like advertising, AI agents, and shopping to concentrate more directly on ChatGPT, including joining cross-team calls with the chatbot's development team.

As part of his initiative to prioritize ChatGPT enhancements, Altman has encouraged temporary team transfers and scheduled daily calls with those responsible for the work, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The Information reported that Altman stated in an internal Slack memo his desire for staff to improve ChatGPT features to create a more personalized user experience. He also reportedly expressed interest in enhancing AI model behavior and image-generation capabilities. Additionally, the Information revealed on Tuesday that OpenAI has been developing a new AI model code-named "Garlic" that was performing effectively on coding and reasoning tasks.

Google announced in November that 650 million people were using its Gemini app. OpenAI recently reported that ChatGPT reached 800 million weekly users. As of October, according to research firm Sensor Tower, Gemini's app had 73 million monthly downloads, significantly lower than ChatGPT's 93 million monthly downloads.

Last month, OpenAI competitor Anthropic PBC released a new version of its AI model designed to better automate coding and office tasks, intensifying its competition with OpenAI and Google for business customers.