The balance of power in the AI race is shifting again. OpenAI has reportedly declared a “code red” in response to Google’s surging momentum, according to the Wall Street Journal. After Google $GOOGL ( ▲ 0.72% ) unleashed its widely praised Gemini 3 model last month, concerns inside OpenAI have reached a point where CEO Sam Altman is urging his teams to refocus on improving ChatGPT.
It’s a full-circle moment. Three years ago, Google declared its own “code red” after OpenAI’s ChatGPT suddenly threatened the future of Google Search. Now OpenAI is feeling that same pressure as Google, and to a degree Anthropic, narrow the gap.
In an internal memo, Altman told staff that initiatives like ads, shopping tools, health agents, and the personal assistant Pulse will be delayed so the company can prioritize ChatGPT upgrades. That means improving speed, reliability, personalization, and its ability to answer more questions. The memo also called for daily calls among the teams responsible for the overhaul, and encouraged temporary team transfers to accelerate progress.
The spike in urgency highlights a turning point for OpenAI as it burns enormous sums to support growth while still trying to prove out a long-term profit path. And Google remains the biggest threat. Its AI user base continues to grow, helped by breakout tools like the Nano Banana image model, and Gemini 3 has outperformed competitors on many industry benchmarks.