Sam Altman says ChatGPT growth has reaccelerated above 10% monthly

An internal Slack message from OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman told employees that ChatGPT’s user base has “back to exceeding 10% monthly growth,” and that the company is preparing to launch “an updated Chat model” this week, according to the internal communication.

The message also cited the scale of the product, saying the company has “more than 800 million weekly active users.” The remarks, circulated inside the company as leaders pressed to stabilize and improve performance, reflect a rapid rebound after several months of slowing momentum and follow an internal push to concentrate resources on the flagship chatbot.

Company executives in December declared a “code red” and temporarily sidelined several projects to improve ChatGPT’s quality and stability. The internal note emphasizes progress since that effort, including reported gains in OpenAI’s developer-facing coding products. Altman said Codex “grew about 50% from a week ago,” and the company rolled out a new coding model, GPT-5.3-Codex, last week.

Those product advances arrive as OpenAI intensifies efforts to monetize its services. The company has said it would start showing ads in ChatGPT to some U.S. users to help fund the steep costs of building and running large AI systems. Executives have argued that higher engagement and new features are key levers for converting usage into sustainable revenue streams.

The broader market for generative AI remains fiercely competitive. Rivals include Anthropic, which has expanded business-focused offerings such as Claude Cowork and developer tools like Claude Code, and Google, whose Gemini app exceeded 750 million monthly active users at the end of the December quarter. Microsoft remains a major partner and backer of OpenAI, a relationship that has shaped product integrations and commercial opportunities.

If the growth figures hold, a reacceleration above 10% month over month would mark a material change in ChatGPT’s trajectory and could influence investor sentiment and partnership dynamics in a sector where user retention and product differentiation matter as much as headline scale. Faster growth would also strengthen OpenAI’s case for accelerated monetization through advertising, enterprise deals, and prioritizing developer platforms.

The internal communications do not supply underlying metrics or methodology for the weekly user figure, and the timing of Altman’s message is described only as having been shared with employees. OpenAI did not immediately respond to requests for comment, and the claims in the internal note have not been independently verified.

The company’s plans to deploy an updated chat model this week and its recent updates to coding models will be closely watched by customers, developers, and competitors for signs of functional improvements and changes to pricing or access. For now, the message from inside OpenAI signals a renewed focus on growth and product refinement at a critical moment for the generative AI industry.