OpenAI, the pioneer of the artificial intelligence (AI) boom with its chatbot ChatGPT, has decided to throw its weight behind its AI coding agent Codex rather than its chatbot ahead of an initial public offering (IPO).
OpenAI plans to carry out its largest overhaul of ChatGPT since the chatbot's launch, according to Britain's Financial Times (FT) on Sunday.
OpenAI plans to transform ChatGPT into a "super app" that combines coding tools and AI agents. As a result, Codex will be allocated greater computing resources than the chatbot. The move means OpenAI, once the market leader, is making a sweeping shift in operational direction amid the steep pursuit of Anthropic, a rival and the operator of the AI coding agent Claude. The company decided that securing profitable enterprise customers is the key to boosting revenue.
Most individual consumers use the chatbot for free. OpenAI has acquired about 1 billion users since launch, but converting their demand into revenue remains a pressing challenge. One senior OpenAI employee declared to the FT that "the chatbot is dead." By contrast, most Codex users pay for the service. The 2 million companies using OpenAI products account for about 40% of revenue. OpenAI expects this share to rise to 50% by the end of the year.
The overhaul will begin within weeks as the ChatGPT website and mobile app are changed, the FT reported. ChatGPT's interface is also expected to be revamped to steer users toward apps created by partners such as Canva and Booking.com, as well as coding tools and image generation. In the long term, the company plans to eliminate this feature, expecting that models will automatically grasp users' intent.
Thibault Sottiaux, who led Codex and now oversees OpenAI's core products and platforms, explained, "A personal assistant will help you across your daily life and work," adding, "You can connect via mobile, desktop and web, and you can even talk in the car."
Some analysts say the strategies of OpenAI and Anthropic, both planning IPOs this fall, are becoming similar. Jenny Xiao, a partner at Leonis Capital and a former OpenAI researcher, said, "About a year ago, OpenAI's strategy was 'bold bets' and Anthropic's was 'make money first.'" She added, "Now the two companies are converging. Both are aiming for IPOs, and investors care more about money than dreams."
Amid the intensifying market, OpenAI has also undergone upheaval internally. Product teams such as ChatGPT and Codex have been consolidated into a single leadership group led by Sottiaux. Several senior executives, including former Chief Product Officer Kevin Weil, have left the company. The video generation product "Sora," launched less than a year ago, has been discontinued, and the purchasing feature within ChatGPT has been put on hold.
