OpenAI transforms ChatGPT into AI superapp

OpenAI is transforming ChatGPT into a "superapp" that combines its AI chatbot with coding tool Codex and Atlas, an AI-powered web browser, representing the biggest overhaul of the product since its launch. The company is shifting focus from traditional chatbots to AI agents that perform tasks for users, with a senior OpenAI employee telling the Financial Times: "Chat is dead." The new app will feature coding tools, multimodal generation, and applications built by partners including Canva and Booking.com, with changes expected to roll out in the coming weeks. The transformation comes as OpenAI faces intensifying competition from Anthropic, which has been capturing a significantly higher portion of first-time enterprise AI customers while multiplying its revenue by 47 in just 18 months. OpenAI executives view ChatGPT as an introductory tool to encourage adoption of higher-value products, particularly Codex, which serves approximately 2 million businesses and generates about 40 percent of OpenAI's total revenue. The company aims to grow business customer revenue to 50 percent by year-end, and has brought ChatGPT, Codex and other product teams under unified leadership. Earlier this year, OpenAI hired Peter Steinberger, founder of agent-creator OpenClaw, to develop the "next generation of personal agents," while shutting down less profitable ventures including its Sora video generation model and a checkout feature for in-app purchases. The shift reflects broader industry trends as major technology companies pivot toward AI agents. Meta acquired the Moltbook platform for AI agents in March, ServiceNow positioned itself as the "AI agent of agents," and Google made its biggest revamp to Search in 25 years with a Gemini integration. Both OpenAI and Anthropic are planning IPOs this year, with OpenAI recently valued at $852 billion and Anthropic's latest funding round potentially valuing it above $1 trillion. Meanwhile, xAI's parent company SpaceX filed for a historic IPO that could value it around $1.75 trillion, while China's DeepSeek is reportedly closing a $7.4 billion funding round. Industry analysts note that the convergence among AI developers responds to investor demands for profitability ahead of their market listings.