In the midst of an ongoing antitrust case against Google, a document regarding OpenAI’s plans to evolve ChatGPT into an AI super assistant was revealed. Although heavily redacted, visible parts of the document make it clear that the company has some very bold plans moving forward.
Drafted in 2024, the document speaks on OpenAI’s plans for this year. “In the first half of next year (2025), we’ll start evolving ChatGPT into a super-assistant: one that knows you, understands what you care about, and helps with any task that a smart, trustworthy, emotionally intelligent person with a computer could do,” the document states. “The timing is right. Models like 02 and 03 are finally smart enough to reliably perform agentic tasks, tools like computer use can boost ChatGPT’s ability to take action, and interaction paradigms like multimodality and generative UI allow both ChatGPT and users to express themselves in the best way for the task.”
OpenAI wants ChatGPT to be more than just a chatbot. The company is getting ready to situate the AI to be an “expert, tutor, adviser, muse, collaborator, translator, entertainer, companion, and analyzer”, as stated by zdnet. However, for an ambitious goal such as this, the processes required are far from simple.
To carry out everything the company hopes to achieve with the super assistant, highly advanced technology would be necessary to develop and operate its intended features and abilities. While CEO Sam Altman has frequently spoken about the bright future of ChatGPT, the company has not formally announced the development of these specific capabilities or clarified how far along they are in the process.
Nonetheless, the unveiled document itself is very specific in describing the company’s vision for the capacities of the technology. Titled “ChatGPT: H1 2025 Strategy”, the document refers to ChatGPT as an intelligent entity with “T-shaped” skills. This phrase is a descriptor for someone or something that is both a specialist and a generalist. As put by zdnet, “In the context of AI, ChatGPT would possess deep expertise and knowledge in one or more areas, such as coding, and a broader understanding across a range of other areas, especially ones that may be tedious or laborious.”
Additionally, the document also touches on revenue prospects. OpenAI stated in the document that the new skills likely won’t generate enough demand to be monetizable during the first half of 2026. However, the company is set on taking that time to expand its capabilities – expecting more economic gain during the second half of the year.
OpenAI also discusses competition. For 2025, the company predicted they would have one main rival. Now, on the actual document, the name of the company is blacked out. However, taking into consideration the current state of companies and the small size of the blackout, spectators assume that they are most likely referring to Meta.
So, what’s ChatGPT looking like right now? Well, OpenAI is currently doubling down on hardware and design. Recently, it announced a $6.5 billion acquisition of a startup – one led by Jony Ive, previously Apple’s design chief. Together, they are working to “create devices that blur the lines between physical and digital interaction”. And whatever they ultimately make could very likely be something integrated into or used for the new super assistant that is in the works.
All in all, while there is still a lot that remains behind closed doors, the uncovered document offers some insight into what could be the future of AI. OpenAI clearly has high hopes for what ChatGPT can become, and if even a fraction of their plans come to life, we might be on the verge of a major shift in how we interact with technology.
Written by Saanvika Gandhari
