Google’s Gemini forces Altman to issue ‘code red’ warning

Google’s rapid rise in the AI race is pushing major tech rivals into defensive mode. Its powerful Gemini 3 model continues to draw strong reviews, raising fresh alarms across the industry.

OpenAI has issued an internal ‘code red,’ with CEO Sam Altman urging teams to accelerate improvements to ChatGPT as the company’s once dominant lead begins to shrink.

The AI startup will delay projects such as ads, shopping tools, health agents, and its personal assistant Pulse to focus on improving ChatGPT’s speed, reliability, personalization, and accuracy, according to a memo cited by the Wall Street Journal and The Information.

Apple is also feeling the pressure. After unexpectedly losing its top AI strategy executive, the company is now considering Google’s Gemini to strengthen future versions of Siri.

Meanwhile, Nvidia, which dominates AI chips, has begun publicly insisting it faces no threat even as reports say Meta is in talks to use Google’s custom TPUs for its data centers.

The common thread behind these moves is Google’s momentum. Axios reported last month that most of the top AI leaders privately said they feared Google’s competition.

For now, industry giants are no longer racing ahead; they’re racing to keep up.