OpenAI to merge ChatGPT, Codex, and Atlas browser into one desktop superapp

OpenAI will combine ChatGPT, Codex and browser Atlas into one desktop superapp

OpenAI is preparing a desktop "superapp" that will combine the chatbot ChatGPT, AI code editor Codex and the artificial intelligence browser Atlas into a single application — according to The Wall Street Journal, citing an internal memo from the company.

What the superapp will combine

The new product will bring together three previously separate OpenAI applications into one window: the chat assistant ChatGPT, the code writing tool Codex and the web browser Atlas built on top of an AI model. According to The Wall Street Journal, the decision is documented in an internal memo from Fijji Simó, CEO of OpenAI Apps, which explains the consolidation by the desire to simplify the company's product line and remove duplicate interfaces.

• The superapp will bring together ChatGPT, Codex and the browser Atlas into one application
• The Wall Street Journal reported on the plans citing an internal company memo
• The author of the memo is Fijji Simó, CEO of OpenAI Apps
• Last year OpenAI released the video application Sora and acquired an AI-hardware startup founded by Jony Ive
• The company points to intensifying competition from Anthropic

Simó directly named product fragmentation as an internal problem for the company that hurts the quality of the end product.

"Fragmentation slows us down and prevents us from reaching the quality bar we want," said

Fijji Simó, CEO of OpenAI Apps, from the memo cited by The Wall Street Journal.

Why OpenAI is changing course now

Throughout last year, OpenAI made a bet on high-profile individual launches rather than a unified product. The company released the video application Sora, which allows generating and distributing AI videos like a separate social network, and acquired an AI-hardware company founded by former Apple chief designer Jony Ive — this deal was supposed to give OpenAI its own direction in AI devices. At the same time, as The Verge notes, during this period OpenAI faced growing competition from Anthropic — a rival whose products are increasingly mentioned as alternatives to OpenAI tools by both developers and corporate clients.

The decision to bring ChatGPT, Codex and Atlas together into one superapp appears to be an attempt to stop the scattering of resources between parallel teams and applications. Instead of competing with itself for the attention of developers and regular users with three different interfaces — chat, code editor and browser — OpenAI, judging by Simó's memo, is betting on a single product with a higher quality bar and simpler story for the user.

What this means

If OpenAI brings the consolidation to release, users will no longer have to switch between separate applications for chatting, writing code and working in a browser with AI — all three functions will be in one desktop interface. For the company itself, this is primarily a way to concentrate development on one product instead of three parallel lines, reduce internal team duplication and respond faster to competition from Anthropic, instead of scattering engineering resources across ChatGPT, Codex and Atlas separately. Neither the exact release date of the super application nor details about how the interface of each of the three products will change are revealed in Simó's memo cited by The Wall Street Journal.