The tides are turning in the AI race, and the pressure is getting to OpenAI. Chief executive Sam Altman reportedly

declared a “code red” on Monday, urging staff to improve its flagship product ChatGPT, an indicator that the startup’s

once-unassailable lead is eroding as competitors like Google and Anthropic close in.

In the memo, reported by the Wall Street Journal and The Information, Altman said the company will be delaying

initiatives like ads, shopping and health agents, and a personal assistant, Pulse, to focus on improving ChatGPT. This

includes core features like greater speed and reliability, better personalization, and the ability to answer more

questions, he said.

There will be a daily call for those tasked with improving the chatbot, the memo said, and Altman encouraged temporary

team transfers to speed up development.

The newfound urgency illustrates an inflection point for OpenAI as it spends hundreds of billions of dollars to fund

growth and figures out a path to future profitability. It is also something of a full-circle moment in the AI race.

Google, which declared its own “code red” after the arrival of ChatGPT, is a particular concern. Google’s AI user base

is growing — helped by the success of popular tools like the Nano Banana image model — and its latest AI model, Gemini

3, blew past its competitors on many industry benchmarks and popular metrics.