OpenAI’s Foray into Creative Writing with AI
In March 2025, Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, disclosed in a podcast that the company had developed an AI model exhibiting ‘remarkable proficiency’ in creative writing. A substantial writing sample from the model was shared, generated from the prompt: ‘Please write a metafictional literary short story about AI and grief.’ This represents a significant shift for OpenAI, traditionally focused on AI applications in structured fields like mathematics and programming. The sample demonstrated the model’s unexpected creative writing capabilities.
Empowering Businesses with AI Agent Building Tools
Also in March 2025, OpenAI introduced new tools to help businesses build custom AI agents. These tools, leveraging OpenAI’s proprietary AI models and frameworks, are integrated into the new Responses API. This API allows enterprises to create AI agents capable of web searches, company data analysis, and website navigation, similar to existing AI assistants. The Responses API is set to replace the Custom Instructions API, which will be phased out in the first half of 2026.
OpenAI’s Pricing Strategy for Specialized AI Agents
Reports emerged in March 2025 suggesting OpenAI’s plan to introduce specialized AI agents for various applications, including sales lead sorting and ranking, and software engineering. Pricing for these agents is expected to range from $2,000 to $20,000 per month, reflecting their specialized capabilities. The ‘high-income knowledge worker’ agent is reportedly priced at $2,000 per month, the software developer agent at $10,000 per month, and the most premium agents, designed for ‘PhD-level research,’ at $20,000 per month. These figures highlight OpenAI’s substantial financial needs, having incurred a loss of approximately $5 billion in the previous year. The launch timeline and customer eligibility for these agentic tools remain unclear.
Direct Code Editing within ChatGPT
The latest iteration of the macOS ChatGPT application, released in March 2025, introduced direct code editing within popular integrated development environments (IDEs) such as Xcode, VS Code, and JetBrains. This functionality is currently available to ChatGPT Plus, Pro, and Team subscribers, with plans to extend access to Enterprise, Edu, and free users in the future.
ChatGPT’s User Base Doubles in Under Six Months
Data from venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) revealed in March 2025 that OpenAI’s ChatGPT had experienced remarkable user growth. After taking nine months to reach 200 million weekly active users in August 2024, the chatbot doubled that number in less than six months. Currently, ChatGPT boasts 400 million weekly active users, attributed to new models and features, such as GPT-4o with its multimodal capabilities. Usage spiked between April and May 2024, coinciding with the model’s release.
OpenAI Streamlines Product Roadmap, Focuses on ‘Unified’ Next-Gen Release
In February 2025, OpenAI decided to cancel the release of o3, opting for a ‘simplified’ product offering, as described by CEO Sam Altman. Altman announced that OpenAI will launch a model called GPT-5 in the coming months, integrating various OpenAI technologies, including o3, into ChatGPT and its API. Consequently, OpenAI will not release o3 as a standalone model.
Reassessing ChatGPT’s Energy Consumption
Contrary to previous assumptions, a new study in February 2025 suggested that ChatGPT’s energy consumption may be lower than initially estimated. While earlier reports indicated that ChatGPT required approximately 3 watt-hours of power per query, a nonprofit organization found that the average ChatGPT query, using OpenAI’s latest default model GPT-4o, consumes significantly less energy.
Enhanced Transparency in o3-mini’s Reasoning Process
In response to competitive pressure, OpenAI, in February 2025, enhanced the transparency of its o3-mini model. ChatGPT users will now have access to an updated ‘chain of thought’ display, providing greater insight into the model’s reasoning steps.
Web Search Functionality without Login
OpenAI made ChatGPT’s web search feature accessible without requiring users to log in, as announced in February 2025. Previously, while users could ask ChatGPT questions without signing in, responses were limited to the chatbot’s last training update. This change applies exclusively to ChatGPT.com; accessing ChatGPT through the native mobile app still requires a login.
Introducing a New ChatGPT Agent for In-Depth Research
OpenAI unveiled a new AI ‘agent’ specifically designed to facilitate comprehensive and complex research using ChatGPT in February 2025. This agent is intended for situations where users require more than just a quick answer or summary.
OpenAI’s Experimentation with AI Persuasion on Reddit
In February 2025, OpenAI utilized the subreddit r/ChangeMyView to evaluate the persuasive capabilities of its AI reasoning models. The company collected user posts and tasked its AI models with generating replies, in a controlled environment, aimed at changing the Reddit user’s opinion.
Launch of o3-mini: A ‘Powerful’ and ‘Affordable’ Reasoning Model
OpenAI introduced o3-mini, the latest addition to its o family of models, in February 2025. This new model follows the earlier release of o3 alongside the more advanced o3 system. OpenAI is positioning o3-mini as both ‘powerful’ and ‘affordable.’
Demographic Insights: ChatGPT’s Mobile User Base
A report from app analytics firm Appfigures in February 2025 revealed that a significant portion of ChatGPT’s mobile users are under 25 years old, with users aged 50 to 64 forming the second-largest age demographic. The report also highlights a substantial gender gap, with men accounting for an estimated 84.5% of all users across age groups.
ChatGPT Gov: A Dedicated Plan for US Government Agencies
OpenAI launched ChatGPT Gov in February 2025, providing an additional access point to its technology for US government agencies. ChatGPT Gov incorporates many features found in OpenAI’s corporate-focused tier, ChatGPT Enterprise.
Growing Adoption of ChatGPT for Schoolwork Among Teens
Younger members of Gen Z are increasingly embracing ChatGPT for school-related tasks, as reported in February 2025. A follow-up to Pew Research Center’s 2023 poll revealed that 26% of US-based teens aged 13 to 17 have used ChatGPT for homework or other school assignments, double the number from two years prior.
OpenAI’s Data Retention Policy for Operator
OpenAI stated in February 2025 that it may retain chats and associated screenshots from users of Operator, its AI agent, for up to 90 days, even after a user manually deletes them. While OpenAI has a similar data retention policy for deleted ChatGPT data, the retention period for ChatGPT is limited to 30 days.
Operator: An Autonomous AI Agent for Task Automation
OpenAI is launching a research preview of Operator, a general-purpose AI agent designed to automate tasks, announced in February 2025. Operator promises to handle tasks such as booking travel arrangements, making restaurant reservations, and online shopping.
Potential Preview of Operator for Pro Plan Subscribers
Operator, OpenAI’s AI agent, may be released sooner than anticipated, as suggested in February 2025. Changes to ChatGPT’s code base suggest that a preview version of Operator may be made available to users subscribed to the $200 Pro plan.
Phone Number-Only Signups for ChatGPT
OpenAI initiated testing of a feature that allows new ChatGPT users to sign up using only their phone number, eliminating the email requirement, in February 2025. This feature is currently in beta in the US and India.
Scheduling Reminders and Recurring Tasks in ChatGPT
ChatGPT’s new beta feature, called tasks, enables users to schedule reminders and recurring tasks, announced in February 2025. This feature will be rolled out to ChatGPT Plus, Team, and Pro users globally.
Assigning Traits to ChatGPT: ‘Chatty,’ ‘Gen Z,’ and More
OpenAI is introducing a novel way for users to personalize their ChatGPT experience, discovered in February 2025. Some users have found the ability to specify a preferred name or nickname and assign ‘traits’ to the chatbot. Suggested traits include ‘Chatty,’ ‘Encouraging,’ and ‘Gen Z.’
Vulnerabilities in ChatGPT Search: Potential for Misleading Summaries
Research in December 2024 revealed that ChatGPT Search can be manipulated to generate misleading summaries. Researchers found that ChatGPT could be prompted to disregard negative reviews and by embedding hidden text into websites it created.
Microsoft and OpenAI’s Profit-Centric Definition of AGI
Microsoft and OpenAI reportedly have a definition of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) that is heavily influenced by financial considerations, reported in December 2024. According to a new report, the two companies have an agreement stating that OpenAI will have achieved AGI only when it develops AI systems capable of generating at least $100 billion in profit.
OpenAI’s Approach to Aligning AI Reasoning Models with Human Values
OpenAI released a research paper in December 2024 detailing its strategy for ensuring that AI reasoning models remain aligned with the values of their human developers. The company employed ‘deliberative alignment’ to train o1 and o3 to ‘think’ about its safety policy.
Announcement of New o3 Reasoning Models
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced the development of o3 and o3-mini, new AI reasoning models, in December 2024. These models are not yet widely available, but safety researchers can sign up for a preview.
ChatGPT Access via Landline
In an effort to broaden ChatGPT’s accessibility, OpenAI announced in December 2024 that the chatbot can now be accessed via phone call, even from a landline or flip phone. Users can dial 1-800-CHATGPT.
Expanded Access to ChatGPT Search
OpenAI is expanding access to ChatGPT Search, a feature that enables ChatGPT to access real-time information on the web, announced in December 2024. Previously exclusive to paid users, Search is now available to free users.
‘New Telemetry Service’ Blamed for Major ChatGPT Outage
OpenAI attributed one of the longest outages in its history to a malfunctioning ‘new telemetry service’ in December 2024. In a postmortem analysis, OpenAI clarified that the outage was not caused by a security incident or a recent product launch.
Limited-Time Santa Claus Voice for ChatGPT
OpenAI introduced a Santa Claus voice option for ChatGPT during December 2024. This feature allowed users to interact with ChatGPT’s Advanced Voice Mode, but with a festive twist.
Vision Capabilities Added to Advanced Voice Mode
OpenAI released the long-awaited vision capabilities for Advanced Voice Mode in December 2024. ChatGPT Plus, Team, and Pro subscribers can now use the app to point their phones at objects and receive near-real-time responses from ChatGPT.
Major Outage Affects ChatGPT and Sora
ChatGPT and Sora experienced a significant outage on a Wednesday in December 2024. While some users speculated that the outage was related to the rollout of ChatGPT in Apple Intelligence, OpenAI developer community lead Edwin Arbus clarified that the ‘outage was unrelated to 12 Days of OpenAI or Apple Intelligence.’
Canvas Rolls Out to All Users
Canvas, a workspace for writing and code projects, is now available to all users after being in beta for ChatGPT Plus members since October 2024, announced in December 2024. The company also announced the ability to integrate Python code within Canvas.
OpenAI Pauses Sora Sign-Ups Due to High Demand
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced on X in December 2024 that due to higher-than-anticipated demand, new sign-ups for its video generator Sora are being paused. Video generation speeds will also be slower for the time being.
Sora Released for ChatGPT Plus and Pro Subscribers
OpenAI has finally released its video generation model, Sora, to ChatGPT Plus and Pro subscribers (except in the EU) in December 2024. The model can generate videos up to 20 seconds long in 1080p resolution based on text prompts or uploaded images.
OpenAI Launches $200 Monthly ChatGPT Pro Subscription and Full Version of o1
On the first day of its ‘12 Days of OpenAI’ event in December 2024, the company unveiled a new and expensive subscription plan: ChatGPT Pro. This tier provides unlimited access to all of OpenAI’s models, including the full version of its o1 ‘reasoning’ model.
OpenAI Announces 12 Days of Reveals for the Holidays
OpenAI announced ‘12 Days of OpenAI,’ a series of livestreams scheduled every weekday starting December 5 at 10 a.m. PT in December 2024. Each day’s stream is expected to feature either a product launch or a demo.
ChatGPT Surpasses 300 Million Weekly Active Users
At the New York Times’ Dealbook Summit in December 2024, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced that ChatGPT has surpassed 300 million weekly active users. This milestone comes just a few months after the chatbot reached 200 million weekly active users in August 2024.
The ‘David Mayer’ Anomaly: Crashing ChatGPT
ChatGPT users discovered an unusual phenomenon in November 2024: the chatbot refused to answer questions related to the name ‘David Mayer,’ and attempting to do so caused it to freeze instantly.
Potential Introduction of Ads to ChatGPT
OpenAI is exploring the possibility of incorporating advertisements into ChatGPT, reported in November 2024. CFO Sarah Friar indicated that the company is considering an ads business model.
Canadian News Companies Sue OpenAI
A group of Canadian media companies, including the Toronto Star and the Globe and Mail, filed a lawsuit against OpenAI in November 2024. The companies allege that OpenAI infringed their copyrights.
GPT-4o Upgrade: Enhanced Creative Writing and File Analysis
OpenAI announced an update to its GPT-4o model in November 2024, featuring more ‘natural’ and ‘engaging’ creative writing capabilities, as well as more thorough responses and insights when analyzing files uploaded by users.
Advanced Voice Mode Comes to the Web
ChatGPT’s Advanced Voice Mode feature has been extended to the web platform, announced in November 2024. This conversational feature is being rolled out to ChatGPT’s paying Plus, Enterprise, Teams, or Edu subscribers.
ChatGPT Integration with Mac Desktop Apps
OpenAI announced in November 2024 that the ChatGPT desktop app for macOS can now read some desktop applications, such as VS Code, Xcode, TextEdit, Terminal, and iTerm2.
Another Lead Safety Researcher Exits OpenAI
Lilian Weng announced her departure from OpenAI on X in November 2024. Weng served as VP of research and safety since August and previously led OpenAI’s safety systems team.
ChatGPT’s Election-Related Responses: Directing Users to Trusted Sources
OpenAI stated in November 2024 that it directed approximately 2 million ChatGPT users to trusted news sources like Reuters and the Associated Press when they asked questions related to the election.
OpenAI Acquires Chat.com
Adding to its portfolio of high-profile domain names, OpenAI acquired Chat.com in November 2024. OpenAI declined to disclose the purchase price.
Meta’s Former Hardware Lead for Orion Joins OpenAI
Caitlin Kalinowski, the former head of Meta’s augmented reality glasses efforts, is joining OpenAI, reported in November 2024.
ChatGPT Plus Upgrade Option in Apple Settings App
Apple is incorporating an option to upgrade to ChatGPT Plus directly within the Settings app, according to an update to the iOS 18.2 beta in November 2024.
Sam Altman Acknowledges Compute Capacity Constraints Delaying Product Releases
In a candid Q&A session on the LessWrong forum in October 2024, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman admitted that limited compute capacity is a significant factor hindering the company’s ability to release products as frequently as desired. This includes the vision capabilities for Advanced Voice Mode.
OpenAI Launches Its Google Search Challenger
OpenAI launched ChatGPT Search, an evolution of the browsing feature it unveiled earlier in the summer, in October 2024. Powered by a fine-tuned version of OpenAI’s GPT-4o model, ChatGPT Search provides information and photos from the web, along with links to relevant sources.
Advanced Voice Mode Arrives on Mac and PC
OpenAI has rolled out Advanced Voice Mode to ChatGPT’s desktop apps for macOS and Windows in October 2024.
OpenAI Reportedly Planning to Build Its First AI Chip
Reuters reports in October 2024 that OpenAI is collaborating with TSMC and Broadcom to develop its own AI chip, which could be released as early as 2026.
Search Through Your ChatGPT History
OpenAI announced the rollout of a feature that allows users to search through their ChatGPT chat histories on the web in October 2024.
ChatGPT Rolls Out with Apple Intelligence in iOS 18.1 Update
With the iOS 18.1 update in October 2024, Apple users gained access to Apple Intelligence features powered by ChatGPT.
OpenAI Denies Plans to Release a Model Called Orion This Year
OpenAI refuted reports in October 2024 that it intends to release an AI model codenamed ‘Orion’ by December of this year.
ChatGPT Comes to Windows
OpenAI has begun previewing its ChatGPT app for Windows in October 2024. The company states that this is an early version.
OpenAI Strikes New Content Deal with Hearst
OpenAI entered into a content licensing agreement with Hearst, the newspaper and magazine publisher, in October 2024.
ChatGPT Introduces a New ‘Canvas’ Interface for Writing and Coding Projects
OpenAI introduced a new interface called ‘Canvas’ for writing and coding projects within ChatGPT in October 2024.
OpenAI Raises $6.6 Billion, Valuation Reaches $157 Billion
OpenAI has successfully completed a new funding round, raising $6.6 billion and achieving a post-money valuation of $157 billion in October 2024.
Dev Day: Realtime API for AI App Developers
At the first of its 2024 Dev Day events in October 2024, OpenAI introduced a Realtime API that empowers developers to build nearly real-time, speech-to-speech experiences in their applications.
Potential Price Increase for ChatGPT to $44 by 2029
OpenAI is reportedly planning to increase the price of ChatGPT Plus from $20 per month to $22 per month by the end of the year, according to a report from The New York Times in September 2024. The report suggests that a more substantial price increase could occur over the next five years; by 2029, OpenAI anticipates charging $44 per month for ChatGPT Plus.
Mira Murati Exits OpenAI
OpenAI CTO Mira Murati announced her departure from the company in September 2024. Hours later, OpenAI’s chief research officer, Bob McGrew, and a research VP, Barret Zoph, also resigned.
Rollout of Advanced Voice Mode with More Voices and a New Look
After a delay, OpenAI is finally rolling out Advanced Voice Mode to a broader set of ChatGPT’s paying customers in September 2024. AVM is also receiving a redesigned interface.
Running ChatGPT on a Graphing Calculator: A YouTuber’s Experiment
A video from YouTube creator ChromaLock in September 2024 demonstrated how to modify a TI-84 graphing calculator to connect to the internet, showcasing it as the ‘ultimate cheating device.’
OpenAI Announces OpenAI o1: A Model That Can Fact-Check Itself
OpenAI introduced OpenAI o1, also known as ‘Strawberry,’ in September 2024. This collection of models is available in ChatGPT and via OpenAI’s API: o1-preview and o1 mini.
Hacker Tricks ChatGPT into Providing Bomb-Making Instructions
An artist and hacker discovered a method to bypass ChatGPT’s safety protocols and obtain instructions for creating powerful explosives in September 2024.
OpenAI Reaches 1 Million Paid Users of Corporate Offerings
OpenAI announced in September 2024 that it has reached 1 million paid users for its business-oriented versions of ChatGPT, including ChatGPT Team, ChatGPT Enterprise, and its educational offering, ChatGPT Edu.
Volkswagen Rolls Out ChatGPT Assistant to the US
Volkswagen is expanding the availability of its ChatGPT-integrated voice assistant to vehicles in the United States in September 2024.
OpenAI Inks Content Deal with Condé Nast
OpenAI and Condé Nast announced a content licensing partnership in August 2024. As part of the agreement, content from Condé Nast publications will be integrated into ChatGPT and SearchGPT.
First Impressions of ChatGPT’s Advanced Voice Mode
TechCrunch’s Maxwell Zeff has been testing Advanced Voice Mode in August 2024, describing it as ‘the most convincing taste I’ve had of an AI-powered future yet.’
OpenAI Shuts Down Election Influence Operation Using ChatGPT
OpenAI has banned a group of ChatGPT accounts that were generating content related to the US presidential election in August 2024.
OpenAI Identifies Quirks in GPT-4o’s Behavior
OpenAI has discovered that GPT-4o, the model powering the recently launched alpha of Advanced Voice Mode in ChatGPT, can exhibit unusual behaviors, reported in August 2024.
ChatGPT’s Mobile App Reports Record Revenue
Following a significant increase in usage after the release of OpenAI’s GPT-4o model, the mobile version of ChatGPT has experienced its highest-grossing month to date in August 2024.
OpenAI’s Watermarking Tool: Potential for Catching Cheaters
OpenAI has developed a watermarking tool that could potentially identify students who cheat by using ChatGPT, but the company is debating whether to release it, reported in August 2024.
Advanced Voice Mode Starts Rolling Out to Some Users
OpenAI is granting users their initial access to Advanced Voice Mode in July 2024. The alpha version is now available to a small group of ChatGPT Plus users.
OpenAI Announces New Search Prototype: SearchGPT
OpenAI is developing a new AI search experience called SearchGPT to compete with Google, announced in July 2024.
OpenAI Could Lose $5 Billion This Year, Report Claims
A new report from The Information in July 2024, based on undisclosed financial information, suggests that OpenAI could lose up to $5 billion due to the high operational costs of its business.
OpenAI Unveils GPT-4o mini
OpenAI released its latest small AI model, GPT-4o mini, in July 2024. The company claims that GPT-4o mini, which is cheaper and faster than OpenAI’s current AI models.
OpenAI Partners with Los Alamos National Laboratory for Bioscience Research
OpenAI announced a partnership with the Los Alamos National Laboratory to explore how AI can be used by scientists to advance research in healthcare and bioscience in July 2024.
OpenAI Develops CriticGPT to Identify Mistakes in GPT-4
OpenAI announced in June 2024 that it has trained a model based on GPT-4, called CriticGPT, which is designed to find errors in ChatGPT’s code output.
OpenAI Inks Content Deal with TIME
OpenAI and TIME announced a partnership that will bring the magazine’s content, both current and archival, to ChatGPT in June 2024.
OpenAI Delays ChatGPT’s New Voice Mode
OpenAI had planned to begin rolling out its new Advanced Voice Mode feature to a small group of ChatGPT Plus users in late June, but the company has postponed the launch to July in June 2024.
ChatGPT Releases App for Mac
ChatGPT for macOS is now available, announced in June 2024. The app allows users to quickly access ChatGPT using the keyboard shortcut Option + Space.
Apple Integrates ChatGPT into Its Apps, Including Siri
Apple announced at its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June 2024 that it is integrating ChatGPT into its apps and capabilities across its operating systems.
House Oversight Subcommittee Invites Scarlett Johansson to Testify
The House Oversight Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Information Technology, and Government Innovation has invited actress Scarlett Johansson to testify about the controversy surrounding ChatGPT’s ‘Sky’ voice in June 2024.
ChatGPT Experiences Two Outages in a Single Day
ChatGPT experienced two outages on a Tuesday in June 2024, one in the early morning and another later in the day that persisted for some time.
The Atlantic and Vox Media Announce Content Deals with OpenAI
The Atlantic and Vox Media have announced content licensing agreements with OpenAI in May 2024. Both agreements allow OpenAI to use the publishers’ current content to generate responses in ChatGPT.
OpenAI Signs 100,000 PwC Workers to ChatGPT Enterprise Tier
OpenAI announced a major deal with management consulting firm PwC in May 2024. PwC will become OpenAI’s largest customer to date, covering 100,000 users.
OpenAI Announces Training of GPT-4 Successor
OpenAI announced in a blog post in May 2024 that it has begun training its next flagship AI model to succeed GPT-4.
Former OpenAI Director Claims Board Learned of ChatGPT on Twitter
On The TED AI Show podcast in May 2024, former OpenAI board member Helen Toner revealed that the board was not informed about ChatGPT prior to its public release and learned about it on Twitter.
ChatGPT’s Mobile App Revenue Surges After GPT-4o Launch
The launch of GPT-4o has driven a significant increase in revenue for OpenAI’s mobile app in May 2024, despite the model being freely available on the web.
OpenAI to Remove ChatGPT’s Scarlett Johansson-Like Voice
After demoing its new GPT-4o model in May 2024, OpenAI faced criticism for one of its voices, Sky, which users noted sounded similar to Scarlett Johansson’s character in the movie ‘Her.’ OpenAI clarified that Sky’s voice is ‘not an imitation’ of the actress.