‘Chat is dead’: OpenAI plans biggest ChatGPT overhaul ahead of IPO, pivots to AI agents, says report
OpenAI is planning its biggest overhaul of ChatGPT since the chatbot was first launched and became a viral sensation in late 2022. According to a report by the Financial Times, OpenAI plans to turn ChatGPT into a “super app” that combines AI agents, coding tools, and third-party services.
In particular, this isn’t the first time we’ve heard of OpenAI’s super app plans. Reports of an OpenAI super app combining ChatGPT, Codex and the Atlas browser first began to emerge around March, with OpenAI Applications CEO Fidji Simo reportedly telling employees that the company was entering a ‘refocus’ phase in which it would cut side projects.
The report also points to OpenAI’s super app plans for similar reasons, noting that the changes are part of a broader restructuring as the ChatGPT maker looks to woo enterprise customers amid growing competition with Anthropic and an upcoming $850 million IPO.
What is OpenAI planning for the super app?
Reportedly, the new changes will give more emphasis and resources to the Codex AI assistant, as OpenAI is increasingly convinced that the future of AI lies not in AI chatbots, but in AI agents that can undertake tasks on behalf of users.
“Chat is dead,” a senior OpenAI employee told the Financial Times.
Executives within the company reportedly see ChatGPT as a gateway to introduce its nearly 1 billion users to higher-value products.
The ChatGPT super app overhaul will reportedly begin rolling out in the coming weeks and will appear first on ChatGPT’s website and mobile apps. As part of the changes, OpenAI will reportedly begin encouraging its users to explore coding, rendering, and applications from third-party providers.
Thibault Sottiaux, who leads OpenAI’s core product and platform teams, told the publication: “The truth will go beyond the surface… Our goal is for you to have your own personal agent who can help you with anything in your life, whether personally or at work.”
“You can connect from your mobile phone, desktop or web. You can talk to it while you’re in the car,” he added.
ChatGPT to get redesign:
In an effort to encourage ChatGPT users to adopt third-party services, OpenAI is said to be redesigning the AI assistant’s chat interface by adding new prompts and features that will direct its loyal user base to the coding, rendering and other applications of its partners such as Canva and Booking.com.
The company plans to get rid of prompts and features in the long run, betting that its models can understand users’ intentions while they’re on its site or app.
The San Francisco-based AI startup reportedly believes that users will want to interact with a single AI assistant in the long term, rather than a collection of separate apps.
Speaking to the FT, Alex Embiricos, OpenAI’s head of enterprise product, said: [artificial general intelligence]“I don’t think there will be many different brands.”
“There will probably be one entity that I can talk to and that will be able to do whatever I need,” he added.
OpenAI plans to expand Codex:
The Financial Times reported that Codex’s user base has increased sixfold to 5 million weekly users since OpenAI launched a new desktop app in February, helping to increase competition from Anthropic’s Claude Code.
The AI-based coding assistant has around 2 million enterprise users, accounting for almost 40% of the company’s revenue, and OpenAI predicts that figure will grow to around 50% by the end of the year.
Notably, OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Codex and other product teams are under a single leadership structure, with Sottiaux leading the charge.
