챗GPT의 화려한 변신: ‘대화하는 챗봇’에서 ‘일하는 슈퍼앱’으로의 대전환 > K-wave Trends

The core of this reorganization promoted by Open AI is in line with the provocative internal trend of ‘the end of chatting’. ChatGPT has been loved as an intellectual conversation partner that shows off its vast knowledge, but it has clear limitations in terms of profitability required in the corporate field. This is because, while enormous operating costs were incurred, the majority of users were using the service for free. To overcome this, OpenAI decided to focus on the ‘agent’ function that processes the user’s complex instructions on behalf of the user. Now, ChatGPT will go beyond a simple inquiry window and play the role of an active assistant that completes actual tasks such as travel reservations, schedule management, and software development.

At the center of this strategy revision is the front placement of the coding tool ‘Codex’. Codex is a high-value product that allows you to write sophisticated code and design software with just simple instructions, and is a key weapon for OpenAI to target the corporate market. Since the launch of the desktop app, the number of weekly active users has increased six-fold to exceed 5 million, and the fact that a significant number of users are paying customers clearly shows the direction of the profit model pursued by OpenAI. OpenAI is using ChatGPT's vast user base as a kind of 'gateway' to lead to this high-value service, making careful calculations to convert free users into paying corporate customers.

This change can also be interpreted as a result of benchmarking the successful moves of competitor Antropic. Antropic has built a stable sales structure by investing heavily in securing corporate customers from early on, and OpenAI is also under pressure to prove ‘profitability’ rather than ‘vision’ to investors ahead of its IPO. In fact, OpenAI has recently terminated the video creation AI ‘Sora’ service and adjusted the payment function within ChatGPT, boldly eliminating inefficiencies in consumer services through selection and concentration. This suggests that AI technology has passed the commercialization stage and has entered a maturity phase where cost-effectiveness must be proven in actual business settings.

Technically, it is expected that a ‘super app’ ecosystem will be built that organically combines ChatGPT with various external partner apps. The goal is to understand the user's intention by linking with external services such as Canvas or Booking.com and automatically call the necessary services without entering complex prompts. OpenAI executives are confident that in the long term, the boundaries between chatbots, search, and coding tools will disappear, and an environment will emerge where users will communicate with a single, integrated AI assistant. This goes beyond simply changing the interface design and means a transition to a new productivity paradigm where AI takes over the entire human work process.

Meanwhile, the Bank of Korea's recent report points out that efforts beyond technology are needed for the introduction of AI to lead to actual productivity improvements. Although generative AI has the effect of reducing work hours by an average of 3.8%, the analysis is that a ‘productivity disconnect’ phenomenon is being observed that does not directly lead to increased production. In the end, the true value of AI depends not only on simply introducing the technology, but also on efforts within the company to redesign work processes, reorganize organizational structures, and establish performance-based incentive systems. In order for this reorganization of OpenAI to be successful, it will be necessary not only to advance the technology, but also to provide answers as to how users can integrate this tool into their actual work flow.