OpenAI shifts Focus to ChatGPT Advancement, Declares “Code Red” Amid Google’s Gemini 3 challenge
SAN FRANCISCO, CA – April 3, 2024 – OpenAI has initiated a company-wide “Code Red” protocol, temporarily halting development of new technologies adn service launches to prioritize improvements to its flagship ChatGPT chatbot and core AI models. The move comes as Google’s recently released Gemini 3 model demonstrates significant advancements in artificial intelligence inference capabilities, posing a growing competitive threat.
According to a report in the Wall Street journal on April 2nd, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced the measure to employees, emphasizing the need to enhance the daily user experience of ChatGPT. Key areas of focus include improved personalization, increased speed and stability, and expanded question-answering capabilities.
“openai must make more efforts to improve the daily experience of chatbots,” Altman reportedly stated.
The “Code Red” declaration signals the pressure OpenAI is facing to maintain its leadership position in the rapidly evolving AI landscape. Industry benchmark tests have shown Google’s Gemini 3 surpassing OpenAI’s GPT model in performance. Google has also seen substantial growth in Gemini users, increasing from 450 million monthly active users (MAU) in July to 650 million in October following the August launch of “Nano Banana,” an AI model specializing in image creation.
OpenAI is also contending with increased competition from Antropic, which recently partnered with Microsoft and NVIDIA to strengthen its position in the corporate AI market.
Consequently, OpenAI will postpone the development and commercialization of several planned services, including AI agents for advertising, health, and shopping, and also a personal assistant project dubbed “Pulse.” The company will concentrate resources on refining ChatGPT and its underlying AI model.
Nick Turley, head of OpenAI ChatGPT, shared on social media that the company is “currently focusing on growing ChatGPT while providing a more intuitive and personalized feel.”
Analysts suggest OpenAI’s success in responding to this challenge will depend on its ability to secure funding, as the startup faces a financial disadvantage compared to larger tech companies like Google, which benefits from stable revenue streams from search and YouTube.
OpenAI previously implemented a “Code Orange” protocol as part of its ongoing efforts to improve ChatGPT, utilizing a color-coded system – yellow, orange, and red – to indicate the urgency of addressing specific issues.
