The Engineer Behind OpenAI's Gamble on a ChatGPT Super App

OpenAI is betting its future on turning ChatGPT from a simple chatbot into a personalized AI agent that handles everything from dinner reservations to expense reports. The company calls this upcoming product a "super app," and the success of that bet now rests squarely on the shoulders of Thibault Sottiaux, recently appointed head of core products.

Sottiaux, who joined OpenAI in 2024 after stints at Google DeepMind and Google Maps, previously built Codex, the company's fast-growing AI coding tool. Now he's tasked with merging Codex into ChatGPT to create an assistant that can act on your behalf across work and life - without you needing to see the code or APIs running underneath.

"It's incredibly exciting and mildly terrifying at the same time," Sottiaux said in a recent interview.

To focus resources on this super app, OpenAI has shuttered standalone products like the Sora video app and an AI platform for scientists, and several executives have left. Sottiaux now reports directly to Greg Brockman while CEO of AGI deployment Fidji Simo is on medical leave.

The super app will likely be powered by Codex's agent capabilities, giving ChatGPT advanced memory and the ability to automate tasks like filing expense reports or avoiding menu items that trigger allergies. OpenAI has already partnered with Visa for agentic payments and connected ChatGPT to email, Slack, and calendars.

Earlier attempts at ChatGPT agents, like Operator and ChatGPT Agent, saw little adoption. Sottiaux says those efforts were "too early" because the underlying models weren't reliable enough. Now, he claims the technology is ready.

"We have to bring the user along," Sottiaux explained. "Maybe it starts small, builds confidence, and then users teach their peers and family."

OpenAI hasn't set a launch date beyond "soon," but Sottiaux notes that many super app features are already available in Codex, which the company plans to merge into ChatGPT in the coming weeks.

"OpenAI is known to take big, bold bets ahead of others," Sottiaux said. "This is us doing it again."

Source: Wired