OpenAI Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman has ordered an urgent company-wide shift to accelerate improvements to ChatGPT, putting a temporary halt on several other high-profile initiatives as competition in the artificial intelligence sector intensifies. According to reporting from the Information, Altman described the situation as a “code red,” telling employees in an internal memo that resources must be redirected immediately to boost the performance and capabilities of the company’s flagship chatbot.
Altman reportedly called for what he termed a “surge,” instructing teams to pause work on projects including autonomous AI agents and potential advertising features. Although he did not specify which technical issues required priority attention, the memo followed recent warnings that Google’s renewed momentum in AI could pose short-term economic challenges for OpenAI.
The move highlights the escalating race among major tech companies to prove to investors that their massive AI investments will translate into market dominance and revenue. Google’s release of Gemini 3 last month drew widespread praise for its reasoning, coding ability, and strength in niche tasks that often challenge AI chatbots. OpenAI, for its part, escalated the rivalry in October with the debut of its first AI-powered web browser, signaling its intention to compete head-on with Alphabet’s expanding ecosystem.
While OpenAI declined to comment on the memo, the renewed focus on ChatGPT was echoed publicly by Nick Turley, the company’s head of ChatGPT. In a post on X late Monday, Turley said the team’s immediate priority is “to keep making ChatGPT more capable, continue growing, and expand access around the world — while making it feel even more intuitive and personal.”
As part of the reorganization, Altman has reportedly encouraged temporary team reshuffling and scheduled daily check-ins with those leading the overhaul, according to the Wall Street Journal. Internally, he has emphasized the need for greater customization options for users, alongside improvements in model behavior and image-generation capabilities. The Information also reported that OpenAI is developing a new AI model, code-named “Garlic,” which has shown strong performance in tasks requiring reasoning and software development.
Meanwhile, the competition for users continues to heat up. Google said in November that its Gemini app had reached 650 million users, while OpenAI recently announced that ChatGPT now sees 800 million weekly users. App download metrics also reflect strong demand: as of October, Gemini recorded 73 million monthly downloads, compared with ChatGPT’s 93 million, according to Sensor Tower.
Rival Anthropic has also intensified the competitive landscape, releasing a new version of its AI model last month designed to excel at automated coding and office workflows. With each major developer vying for technological leadership and enterprise customers, Altman’s “code red” underscores the pressure on OpenAI to keep ChatGPT ahead of fast-moving competitors.
