OpenAI Declares Code Red as Google’s Gemini 3 Threatens ChatGPT

Sam Altman at OpenAI has declared the highest internal alert level, triggering a company-wide “code red” as Google’s Gemini 3 model begins outpacing ChatGPT in critical benchmarks.

This emergency response marks the most dramatic pivot in OpenAI’s history, with Altman redirecting all resources toward saving ChatGPT’s market position.

The crisis escalation comes after OpenAI first recognized mounting competitive pressure with a “code orange” designation in October. Now, with Gemini 3’s impressive benchmark performances threatening OpenAI’s dominance, Altman is making unprecedented sacrifices to maintain ChatGPT’s competitive edge.

The company is immediately pausing advertising integration efforts that had been in beta testing, along with specialized AI agents for healthcare and shopping applications that represented significant revenue opportunities.

Knockout punch

Google’s latest AI breakthrough landed a devastating blow to OpenAI’s market confidence today. Gemini 3 Deep Think outperforms earlier models on “Humanity’s Last Exam”—the challenging benchmark created by AI safety researchers that’s designed to push frontier-level capabilities. Even more concerning for OpenAI: these superior results appear across multiple independent leaderboards that track model performance.

The competitive momentum has been building rapidly. Google’s Gemini platform has exploded from 450 million active users in July to 650 million by October—a 44% growth in three months. This user surge demonstrates that Google’s sustained AI infrastructure investments are finally paying dividends at scale.

The irony runs deep: Google initially declared its own “code red” when ChatGPT launched two years ago, redirecting teams across Google Research and other departments to accelerate AI development. That emergency response led to Bard’s launch in early 2023 and its evolution into today’s Gemini platform.

The gamble

Altman’s internal memo reveals the scope of OpenAI’s retreat from expansion. The company has established daily coordination calls for ChatGPT enhancement teams and is encouraging temporary staff transfers to support the flagship product. Five critical improvement areas now dominate OpenAI’s roadmap: enhanced personalization, faster response times, improved reliability, better query handling, and reduced refusal rates.

The financial stakes couldn’t be higher. OpenAI is delaying advertising integration that represents its first major monetization effort beyond subscriptions, despite projecting subscription revenue of approximately $10 billion this year, potentially doubling to $20 billion next year. This decision signals Altman’s belief that long-term competitive positioning trumps immediate revenue generation.

OpenAI is also fast-tracking a new reasoning model expected next week that Altman claims will surpass Gemini 3’s capabilities, though the company hasn’t released comparable public benchmark data yet. The urgency reflects OpenAI’s recognition that losing technical leadership could trigger broader market share erosion.

AI arms race

This escalating battle between OpenAI and Google represents more than corporate rivalry—it’s reshaping how AI development prioritizes user experience over feature expansion. OpenAI still maintains commanding advantages, including over 800 million weekly users and deep integration with Microsoft’s productivity ecosystem, accounting for roughly 70% of global AI assistant usage.

However, Google’s breakthrough moment has arrived.

The competitive intensity is accelerating innovation cycles across the industry, but it’s also raising questions about whether the breakneck pace of development can maintain adequate safety considerations and ethical standards.

Both companies are racing to deliver superior user experiences while navigating the complex challenges of responsible AI deployment in an environment where technological leadership directly translates to market dominance.