OpenAI is preparing for the most significant transformation of ChatGPT since its launch in 2022. The company aims to turn the chatbot into a super app to boost revenue growth ahead of its IPO, according to FT.
The new all-in-one platform is designed to integrate AI agents, programming tools, and third-party applications.
From Chatbot to AI Super App
According to the report, the rollout of the update is scheduled for the coming weeks and will affect both the web version and mobile apps of ChatGPT. Users will be more actively offered tools for coding, image generation, and partner services like Canva and Booking.com.
OpenAI expects ChatGPT to become an entry point into an ecosystem of more profitable products. In particular, the company is betting on Codex—a programming service powered by AI, which saw its audience grow more than sixfold after the launch of its desktop app in February, surpassing 5 million active users per week.
Focus on AI Agents
This reorganization reflects OpenAI's changing views on the future of artificial intelligence. The company believes that the next wave of growth will not come from chatbots answering questions, but from autonomous agents capable of performing tasks on behalf of the user.
“Chat is dead,” said an OpenAI employee to FT.
According to Thibaut Sottiaux, head of product, the company is moving towards a model of a personal AI agent that can assist users in both work and daily life through smartphones, computers, or other devices.
Competing with Anthropic and Pursuing Profitability
The changes also reflect a convergence of OpenAI's strategy with that of Anthropic, which has focused on the corporate segment and commercial products. Currently, around 2 million companies use OpenAI's solutions, accounting for approximately 40% of the developer's revenue. By the end of the year, this figure could rise to 50%.
In preparation for its IPO, the company is reallocating resources towards corporate products. Several consumer initiatives have been scaled back, including the shopping feature within ChatGPT. OpenAI also shut down the video generator Sora less than a year after its launch.
The company's leadership believes that as AI evolves, users will interact not with a collection of separate applications, but with a single digital assistant capable of performing a wide range of tasks. This role has been assigned to the revamped ChatGPT.
In June, the company announced the Lockdown mode, which protects AI agents from "prompt injection" attacks—one of the most common methods to make the model disclose information or perform unwanted actions.