OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has reportedly issued a "code red" alert to employees, prioritising improvements to its flagship product, ChatGPT, and directing the delay of other product developments, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The newspaper reported that Altman sent an internal memo to staff on Monday stating that more work was needed to enhance the artificial intelligence chatbot's speed, reliability, and personalisation features.
This week marks three years since OpenAI first released ChatGPT, an event that helped spark global fascination and a commercial boom in generative AI technology. However, the company is facing increased competition from rivals, including Google, which last month unleashed Gemini 3, the latest version of its own AI assistant. OpenAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday. The memo was also reported by tech news outlet The Information.
Product strategy and monetisation
OpenAI generates revenue from subscriptions to its paid tier; however, the majority of its user base utilises the free version. The company has also recently introduced its own AI web browser, Atlas, in October this year. Atlas is designed to be "agentic," meaning it is able to autonomously navigate websites and take actions within a user's logged-in accounts. This functionality introduces security and privacy vulnerabilities that most users are unprepared to manage.
Potential for ads in ChatGPT
According to a report from The Information, OpenAI is considering incorporating advertisements into ChatGPT, potentially based on user chats or the bot's memory. While CEO Sam Altman has previously discussed how ads might be integrated into ChatGPT, he has never offered a definitive stance.
Recently, however, Tibor Blaho spotted code on X that suggests OpenAI may be close to introducing ads for ChatGPT. A beta version of the ChatGPT Android app includes lines of code that heavily reference ads. According to Blaho's post, the 1.2025.329 beta version includes mentions of "ads feature," "search ad," and "bazaar content". While this is not a version available to the public yet, it could indicate that OpenAI is ready to open the ad floodgates.
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