Sam Altman has declared a “Code Red” at OpenAI in response to the competitive pressure posed by Google’s new Gemini 3 AI model.
Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, appears to be taking significant action in response to the rising competition from Google’s latest AI model, Gemini 3. In an internal memo to employees, Altman declared a “Code Red,” urging the team to allocate more resources toward enhancing ChatGPT, OpenAI’s flagship conversational AI product. This move comes amid increasing pressure from Google and other rivals in the rapidly evolving AI landscape, as reported by tech news outlet The Information.
ChatGPT, which was launched in late 2022, has established itself as a leader in the AI field. Built on the Generative Pretrained Transformer (GPT) architecture, it quickly garnered attention for its ability to generate human-like text, answer questions, provide explanations, and assist with creative writing tasks. The model operates by predicting and generating text based on patterns learned from extensive datasets, including publicly available information, books, and web content.
Over the years, OpenAI has released several iterations of ChatGPT, each version improving upon the last in terms of accuracy, contextual understanding, and safety measures aimed at reducing harmful outputs. The application has found widespread use across various sectors, including education, business, and customer service, where it helps users draft documents, brainstorm ideas, and automate routine tasks.
In contrast, Google’s Gemini 3 was launched in November 2025 and represents a significant advancement in the company’s AI strategy. The model was rolled out across a broad spectrum of Google’s ecosystem, reaching billions of users almost instantly. This included its integration into Google Search, marking what the company described as its fastest deployment to date.
Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google, acknowledged that the company had previously hesitated to launch its chatbot, citing concerns over its readiness. “We knew in a different world, we would’ve probably launched our chatbot maybe a few months down the line,” Pichai stated. “We hadn’t quite gotten it to a level where you could put it out and people would’ve been okay with Google putting out that product. It still had a lot of issues at that time.”
Despite the competitive landscape, Altman’s memo indicated that OpenAI plans to release a new reasoning model next week, which he claims will outperform Google’s Gemini 3 in internal evaluations. However, he also acknowledged the need for substantial improvements to the overall ChatGPT experience.
Gemini 3 is designed as a multimodal foundation model, enabling users to perform complex tasks and create interactive content across Google’s platforms. It powers AI Mode in Google Search, the dedicated Gemini app, and developer tools like AI Studio and Vertex AI. This comprehensive integration aims to enhance user experiences and strengthen Google’s competitive position against rivals like OpenAI.
The AI landscape is evolving at a rapid pace, with major tech companies racing to enhance the capabilities of their models. OpenAI’s ChatGPT, once the dominant player in conversational AI, now faces formidable competition from cutting-edge systems like Google’s Gemini 3. This shift highlights a broader trend in which AI technologies are transitioning from experimental tools to widely deployed systems that significantly impact work, creativity, and daily life.
While these advancements promise increased productivity and new capabilities, the long-term implications, reliability, and societal consequences of such technologies remain uncertain. The current situation underscores both the opportunities and challenges that exist within a fast-paced and competitive AI industry.
Source: Original article