ChatGPT at 3: Tested by a tougher AI landscape

ChatGPT, the world’s favourite conversational bot, turned three in a world shaped by the artificial intelligence (AI) race it kicked off. Since its humble arrival in a low-key research preview on November 30, 2022, OpenAI’s AI chatbot has grown into a cornerstone for capital markets, even as rivals quickly catch up.

A lot has changed in these three years of ChatGPT, for better or worse. Its parent OpenAI is undergoing a structural shift while rushing to the next frontier in AI — the human-like artificial general intelligence (AGI). It also has hardware and infrastructure ambitions on its mind, with an in-house AI chip, data centres around the world, and an AI-based device. The popular AI chatbot, with 800 million active weekly users, is at the centre of it.

Pole position under threat


Back in 2022, OpenAI pipped Google to be the first to roll out an AI chatbot, taking the lead in the race it kicked off. Google chief executive Sundar Pichai admitted in a recent conversation with Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff that his company did have an AI chatbot , but it was not yet launch-ready.

Three years later, Google has made up for lost time. Gemini 3, its “most advanced reasoning model yet”, performed better in automating website and product design, as well as writing code, than rivals. Google’s image and video generation models Nano Banana and Sora are also gaining traction among users.

Meanwhile, ChatGPT is struggling with a drop in user engagement. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman acknowledged possible “economic headwinds” due to rising competition from Google and Anthropic.

The AI major is now working towards granting users more control over how they use ChatGPT by loosening some restrictions imposed earlier this year in the backdrop of questions around mental health. Altman has promised that the platform will ensure adequate guardrails where required.

Beyond AI

OpenAI intends to develop ChatGPT into an ecommerce hub. In September, it added Instant Checkout and the Agentic Commerce Protocol to ChatGPT. These let users shop and pay within the chatbot, via retailers and digital transaction platforms OpenAI has collaborated with.

Last month, OpenAI rolled out a new tool called “shopping research”, designed for ChatGPT users who want detailed, well-researched shopping guides. The launch comes just in time for the holiday season.

Business model

As OpenAI shifts to a for-profit model, ChatGPT is likely to do a lot of heavy lifting. The company projected that by 2030, 8.5% of an estimated 2.6 billion weekly users, or around 220 million people, will subscribe to its chatbot, positioning it among the world's largest subscription businesses, according to a report by The Information.

As of July, about 35 million users, roughly 5% of ChatGPT's weekly active base, paid for "Plus" or "Pro" plans at $20 and $200 a month, respectively, the report added.