OpenAI Declares “Rough” Period ahead as Competition Intensifies
SAN FRANCISCO - openai CEO Sam Altman has signaled a period of intense competitive pressure, acknowledging the company must refocus to withstand challenges from rivals like Google and Anthropic. The declaration comes as competitors release increasingly powerful AI models and OpenAI navigates rising costs, technical hurdles, and talent retention.
OpenAI currently boasts over 800 million weekly users, holding a notable share of the chatbot market. Though, analytics firm Similarweb data indicates users are spending more time interacting with Google’s Gemini than with OpenAI’s ChatGPT. This shift follows the release of Google’s Gemini 3 last month,which industry benchmarks show surpassing OpenAI’s anticipated GPT-5 model. Anthropic’s Opus 4.5 has also outperformed GPT-5 in key tests.
“Expect the atmosphere to be rough for a while,” Altman reportedly stated, anticipating a challenging period.
Google’s AI architect, Koray Kavukcuoglu, and deepmind CTO, emphasized the company’s advancements through training models on custom-made chips and immediate integration into existing products. Google has also reportedly improved its model training methods – an area where OpenAI has recently faced difficulties.
Despite the competitive landscape, OpenAI is prioritizing growth and improvement of its ChatGPT platform. Nick Turley, VP and Head of ChatGPT, announced Monday that ChatGPT now accounts for roughly 10 percent of all search activity and is growing rapidly. the company’s focus is on enhancing ChatGPT’s capabilities, expanding global reach, and improving user experience.
