OpenAI seems to be aiming beyond chatbots. According to The Verge, the company is testing a new product internally — a social network that combines AI-generated content with a classic post feed. It’s unclear whether it’ll be a standalone platform or integrated into ChatGPT. Here's what’s known so far.

Sources close to OpenAI say the company is working on a social platform with features similar to X (formerly Twitter). The project is still in its early stages, but a working internal prototype already exists. It includes a feed where content is created using ChatGPT.

CEO Sam Altman has reportedly conducted private surveys about the idea. What’s still unclear is whether OpenAI will launch this as a separate app or simply build it into ChatGPT — the world’s most downloaded app last month.

‍Why it matters

‍Launching a social product could escalate the rivalry between OpenAI and Elon Musk, especially after Musk’s $97.4 billion bid to acquire the company. Musk already has Grok integrated into X, and this new move would put OpenAI in direct competition with that setup.

At the same time, OpenAI is stepping into Meta’s territory. Meta is reportedly developing an AI assistant with social features of its own. Altman has previously joked about launching a competing social app — now it looks like he’s following through.

AI as a content engine

‍One idea behind OpenAI’s prototype is to let AI help users create content that’s more likely to go viral. The company is eyeing the same real-time engagement advantage that Grok has with X. Access to social interaction data could give OpenAI’s models a major training edge — something both X and Meta are also after.

Other projects in the pipeline

‍Alongside social experiments, OpenAI is investing in software automation. CFO Sarah Friar recently mentioned a new internal initiative called A-SWE (Agentic Software Engineer), an AI tool designed to write and debug code on its own. OpenAI also released the Responses API — a toolkit that helps developers build agents capable of web search, file analysis, and desktop automation.

What’s next

‍There’s been no official announcement yet, but the direction is clear: OpenAI wants to do more than just build AI — it wants to create the space where AI interacts with people in real time. If this prototype becomes a public product, the social media landscape could see a serious shake-up.

‍