OpenAI is planning a major redesign of ChatGPT within the next few weeks, turning it into a “super app” that integrates the Codex coding tool and AI agent capabilities. According to internal information from OpenAI obtained by the Financial Times on June 7, a senior OpenAI employee bluntly said “Chat is dead,” suggesting that traditional conversational AI is no longer sufficient to meet strategic goals.
Confirmed direction and strategy shifts for the ChatGPT super app
Based on OpenAI-confirmed information and related reports, the core direction of this redesign is to integrate the Codex programming tool and AI agent (agent) functions into ChatGPT, creating a smart gateway that can handle complex tasks and connect with third-party tools—enabling it to execute a wide range of duties such as writing code, analyzing data, and scheduling calendars.
At the same time, OpenAI is substantially cutting back “side quests.” The Sora video generation model has been shut down, and former product lead Kevin Weil and researcher Bill Peebles have left one after another. The company is doing strategic streamlining, focusing resources on pushing forward the super app transformation. Previously, Fast Company reported on OpenAI’s ambitions for a super app. This year, in March, the Wall Street Journal also pointed out that this represents a major strategic shift for OpenAI after it launched a large number of standalone products starting in 2025.
Frequently asked questions
Does the internal comment “Chat is dead” mean OpenAI will give up the conversational function of ChatGPT?
According to the Financial Times report and Sottiaux’s confirmation, this is an upgrade of ChatGPT into a super app that integrates more functions, not an abandonment of the chat interface. “Chat is dead” is an internal way of saying that OpenAI is shifting its strategic focus, referring to the end of the “pure conversation tool” era, not the removal of chat functionality. The new ChatGPT’s chat interface is expected to still exist, but its positioning will shift from a conversational tool to an all-purpose entry point with action capabilities.
Why is OpenAI rolling out a super app redesign at this time before its IPO?
The commercial motivation behind this redesign is to steer free ChatGPT users toward paid features such as Codex, boosting average revenue per user (ARPU) and user retention—two metrics that Wall Street focuses on when setting IPO pricing. Anthropic’s Claude series continues to expand its enterprise deployments and programming development market presence, increasing the urgency for OpenAI to strengthen its commercialization capabilities ahead of listing.
Does shutting down Sora mean OpenAI is abandoning video generation AI?
Based on current reports, the Sora video generation model has been classified as a “side quest” and shut down as part of OpenAI’s strategic streamlining and refocusing resources on the super app route. At present, reports have not confirmed whether OpenAI has completely abandoned the video generation AI direction, or whether it has simply adjusted the priority order for investment.
