After chat models and AI agents, Altman bets the next phase will be proactive AI running constantly in the background. But many companies are still struggling with the basics: costs are spiraling, products are too fragmented, and most users don't even know what to ask.
At an enterprise event organized by OpenAI, CEO Sam Altman laid out a three-phase thesis for AI product development. Chat models like ChatGPT were the first major product. Agent-based systems like Codex are the second. The third phase takes the automation further: "proactive AI" that runs constantly in the background.
"I bet what comes next will be this idea of constantly running proactive AI," Altman said, adding that "if there's one thing to get ready for as the next phase over the next year, this is the one I would pick."
Rising AI costs are becoming "a huge issue"
The current agent phase has been "the biggest category" so far, according to Altman, "done in response to customer demand." Users are increasingly confused about when to use chat, Codex, or an API, and struggle to pull together the right context and combine all the available plug-ins.
