OpenAI declares internal ‘code red’ amid rising pressure from Google and Anthropic

OpenAI

OpenAI is facing its most pivotal moment yet, with chief executive Sam Altman reportedly declaring a “code red” inside the company and ordering a complete refocus on shoring up ChatGPT. According to reports from the Wall Street Journal and The Information, Altman has temporarily shelved a slate of new initiatives including advertising tools, shopping and health agents, and the personal assistant project known as Pulse. The priority is now the reliability, personalisation and speed of OpenAI’s flagship product.

The internal memo suggests a level of urgency not seen since ChatGPT first upended the industry in 2022. Altman has called for daily development calls and encouraged temporary team transfers to accelerate progress. The message to staff is clear. Improving ChatGPT is now the company’s defining task as competition intensifies and OpenAI searches for a pathway to sustainable profitability after massive spending on infrastructure and models.

The pressure is mounting on OpenAI as rivals are closing in. Google, which once reacted to ChatGPT with its own “code red”, is emerging as a formidable threat. Its Gemini 3 model has outperformed competitors across benchmarks and its user base is expanding quickly, helped by a wave of popular tools such as the Nano Banana image model. Anthropic is also gaining momentum with steady improvements to Claude.

For OpenAI, the reset represents both a defensive move and a return to fundamentals. ChatGPT remains the company’s most important product and its biggest gateway to mainstream users. If the company can strengthen it before competitors widen their advantage, the gamble may pay off. If not, the tide of the AI race could change faster than anyone expected.