tech
OpenAI CEO declares “code red” as Gemini gains 200 million users in 3 months
Three years after Google sounded alarm bells over ChatGPT, the tables have turned.
TL;DR
- OpenAI CEO Sam Altman declared a "code red" for ChatGPT to improve the chatbot, delaying advertising, AI agents for health/shopping, and a personal assistant feature.
- This directive follows Google's release of its Gemini 3 model, which has outperformed ChatGPT on some industry benchmarks.
- The current situation is a reversal of the "code red" Google declared in December 2022 after ChatGPT's successful launch.
- Gemini 3 has topped the LMArena leaderboard, and high-profile figures like Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff have switched from ChatGPT to Gemini 3.
- Google's Gemini app has seen significant user growth, closing the gap with ChatGPT's user numbers.
- Some analysts view OpenAI's "code red" as a potential false alarm, suggesting the company may be overextending itself and is heavily reliant on fundraising.
- OpenAI faces a competitive disadvantage as it does not profit from AI ventures like Google, which subsidizes its AI efforts through search advertising revenue.
- OpenAI has significant financial obligations for computing power and has announced investments in Thrive Capital and a collaboration with Accenture.
- OpenAI plans to release a new simulated reasoning model next week, which may outperform Gemini 3 internally.