OpenAI is planning its biggest overhaul of ChatGPT since the chatbot first debuted and became a viral sensation in late 2022. As per a report by Financial Times, OpenAI is planning to turn ChatGPT into a ‘super app’ that combines AI agents, coding tools, and third-party services.
Notably, this is not the first time that we are hearing about OpenAI's plans for a super app. Reports of an OpenAI super app combining ChatGPT, Codex, and the Atlas browser first started surfacing around March and were attributed to an all-hands meeting by Fidji Simo, OpenAI's CEO of Applications, where she reportedly told employees that the company was entering a phase of ‘refocus’ where it would cut out side projects.
The report also points to similar reasons for OpenAI's plans for the super app, noting that the changes are part of a broader reorganisation, with the ChatGPT maker looking to woo enterprise customers amid the growing rivalry with Anthropic and its upcoming $850 million IPO.
What is OpenAI planning for the super app?
Reportedly, the new changes will end up giving more prominence and resources to the Codex AI assistant as OpenAI becomes increasingly convinced that the future of AI does not lie within AI chatbots but with AI agents that can undertake tasks on behalf of users.
"Chat is dead," one senior OpenAI employee told the Financial Times.
Inside the company, executives reportedly see ChatGPT as a gateway to introduce its almost 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 start exploring coding, image generation, and apps from third-party providers.
Speaking to the publication, Thibault Sottiaux, who leads OpenAI's core product and platform teams, said, “It will transcend the actual surface . . . what we’re building towards is where you have your own personal agent that is capable of helping you . . . across everything in your life, be it personally or at work.”
“You can connect through it on your mobile, desktop or web. When you’re in the car, you can talk to it,” he added.
ChatGPT to get a redesign:
In order to encourage ChatGPT users to adopt third-party services, OpenAI is said to be redesigning the chat interface for its AI assistant by adding new prompts and features which will direct its loyal user base towards coding, image generation, and other apps from its partners like Canva and Booking.com.
The company plans to get rid of the prompts and features in the long run and is betting that its models will be able to understand users' intentions when they are 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.
Alex Embiricos, OpenAI’s head of enterprise product, while speaking to FT, said, “When we have [artificial general intelligence], I don’t think there will be a large number of distinct brands.”
“Probably there will be a single entity that I can talk to that can do whatever I need,” he added.
OpenAI plans to grow Codex:
The Financial Times reports that the user base for Codex has increased sixfold to over 5 million weekly users since OpenAI launched a new desktop app in February, which has also helped increase the rivalry with Anthropic's Claude Code.
The AI-based coding assistant has around 2 million enterprise users, which account for almost 40% of the company's revenue, and OpenAI is predicting that this will rise to around 50% by the end of the year.
Notably, OpenAI has ChatGPT, Codex, and other product teams under a single leadership structure, with Sottiaux taking charge.
