Sam Altman Orders ‘Code Red’ at OpenAI as Google, Anthropic Narrows Lead in AI

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has declared an internal “code red,” directing the company to concentrate resources on improving ChatGPT after competitors such as Google and Anthropic narrowed the model’s early lead, The Information reported.

The directive, outlined in an internal memo, will reportedly prioritise improvements to the chatbot’s everyday user experience, including faster and more reliable responses as well as deeper personalisation, while pushing other projects to the back burner.

Competition Heats Up

The decision comes amid heightened competitive pressure following Google’s launch of Gemini 3 and Anthropic’s rollout of Opus 4.5, models that, according to industry benchmarks and early reviews, have surpassed OpenAI’s GPT-5 in several areas.

Google has credited its advantage to custom training chips and rapid product integration, a strategy that has reportedly prompted OpenAI leadership to tighten its focus on strengthening the core ChatGPT experience.

According to the report, Altman informed employees that work on new initiatives, including advertising integrations, specialised shopping and health agents, and Pulse, the company’s personalised update feed, will be deferred so teams can be reallocated to the ChatGPT effort. Plans outlined internally include more frequent coordination meetings and temporary staff reassignments to speed up reliability fixes and feature upgrades.

OpenAI's Market Position

Despite intensifying competition, OpenAI continues to hold a strong position in the market. ChatGPT remains widely used and is regarded internally as the most popular AI assistant overall.

Nick Turley, vice president and head of ChatGPT in an X post said, “Search is one of the biggest areas of opportunity. ChatGPT now accounts for roughly 10 per cent of search activity, and it’s growing quickly,”.

Still, some engagement metrics suggest users are spending more time with rival models such as Google’s Gemini, a trend that appears to have reinforced OpenAI’s decision to prioritise product quality over rapid monetisation.

The release of Gemini 3 generated significant attention, including praise from Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, who called the model a major leap forward and said he was “not going back” to ChatGPT after trying it. The endorsement highlighted how quickly sentiment can shift in the AI sector and likely added urgency to OpenAI’s renewed focus on strengthening the core ChatGPT experience.