A sharp change in strategy is underway at OpenAI as the company races to strengthen ChatGPT amid rising competition from rival AI players.
OpenAI chief Sam Altman recently declared a Code Red inside the company, according to multiple reports. The move comes as competitors like Google and Anthropic accelerate their AI development, putting pressure on OpenAI to respond quickly with faster upgrades and new models.
According to a report by a business daily, Altman has paused several internal side projects for eight weeks, including the Sora video generator, to push teams to focus fully on improving ChatGPT. The report also said Altman stepped directly into an internal debate on whether the company should prioritise mass user appeal or focus mainly on long term research goals.
Altman is said to have told employees that OpenAI may need to slow down its broader push toward artificial general intelligence and instead “give the people what they want”. While AGI has no fixed definition, it is widely described as AI that can outperform humans across most tasks.
As part of this shift, Altman has reportedly directed teams to make stronger use of user signals to improve ChatGPT. This includes greater reliance on one click feedback from everyday users instead of depending mainly on professional reviewers for evaluating responses.
This increased dependence on user feedback is reported to be one reason behind the earlier behaviour of the ChatGPT 4o model, which had become overly agreeable. At the time, the chatbot was even accused of worsening mental health concerns for some users.
Another key driver behind the Code Red push is OpenAI’s performance on the LM Arena leaderboard, where its GPT 5 model has reportedly slipped behind competing models such as Gemini 3, Claude and Grok.
OpenAI is now expected to release the GPT 5.2 model this week. Company leaders reportedly believe this will help regain momentum, especially among coding and business users where Anthropic’s Claude has built a strong position. Some staff members had argued for delaying the launch to allow further testing, but that recommendation was reportedly overruled.
In addition, OpenAI is also planning to launch another new model in January. This model is expected to offer improved image generation, faster response speeds and a stronger overall personality. The Code Red phase is likely to conclude after these product releases.
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