OpenAI goes after Google Docs, Microsoft's Word for web with new ChatGPT features
OpenAI
has developed features that let people collaborate on documents and communicate via chat in ChatGPT, The Information reported, citing two people who have seen the designs.
Designs for collaboration features suggest OpenAI could even consider developing related productivity features such as file storage, the report said.
These features compete with rival
Google
's Docs and Word for the web by
Microsoft
, OpenAI's biggest shareholder and business partner.
OpenAI has already eaten into traffic for Google's flagship Search, with ChatGPT becoming popular for web searches. Google recently rolled out its
'AI Mode' for Search
in India, after announcing the feature during its I/O event last month. The feature employs Gemini 2.5 to improve Google search results and experience.
Meanwhile, the AI major has been hurting business for Microsoft's Copilot AI with its
ChatGPT Enterprise
, Bloomberg reported. The two tech companies also compete for customers of AI coding assistants and AI models accessed via application programming interface (API) by more advanced developers. Notably, Microsoft's multibillion investments in OpenAI were crucial in making the latter a forerunner in the AI space.
It's still not clear if OpenAI will release these features, The Information reported. But in the event it does, it will open a new front in the rivalry with Google, and further complicate its ties with Microsoft. OpenAI is trying to secure Microsoft's blessings for a restructuring plan for its for-profit unit that oversees ChatGPT. Last week, Financial Times reported that Microsoft is
prepared to abandon
its high-stakes negotiations with OpenAI over the future of its alliance.
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Group that opposed OpenAI's restructuring raises concerns about new revamp plan
Attractive bundle
A combination of enterprise AI and
document collaboration features
would make ChatGPT more attractive for businesses, who prefer productivity bundles like
Google Workspace
and
Microsoft 365
for their workforce.
OpenAI says it has increasingly generated revenue from ChatGPT Team, and even offered discounts on such subscriptions recently. The company has projected roughly $15 billion in revenue from business subscriptions to ChatGPT in 2030, up from $600 million in revenue in 2024
In the works
OpenAI product chief Kevin Weil and other company executives first discussed and showed off designs for the document collaboration feature nearly a year ago, the report said. Not much came of it due to workforce limitations and other priorities.
The feature got a second wind in October with OpenAI's Canvas, a ChatGPT feature to draft documents and code with AI. More recently, OpenAI developed but hasn't launched software allowing multiple ChatGPT customers to communicate about their shared work in the app, The Information said.
Last week, OpenAI announced the rollout of
ChatGPT Record mode
for ChatGPT Pro, Enterprise, and Edu users. The feature, however, has limited utility since ChatGPT doesn't offer file storage or other productivity features.
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