Get Ready for Phase 2 of the AI Era. ChatGPT is getting its “Biggest Update” Yet

OpenAI is preparing what CNBC’s Joe Kernen, citing Financial Times reporting, called “The biggest update to ChatGPT since the product launched. It’s already been four years.” The revamp is designed to push ChatGPT beyond conversation and into autonomous action. Ahead of OpenAI’s upcoming IPO, the most direct publicly traded way to benefit from the company’s growth runs through Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT | MSFT Price Prediction), OpenAI’s largest investor and primary Azure infrastructure partner.

ChatGPT’s Pivot From Chatbot to Agent

Per the Financial Times reporting relayed by CNBC, the changes are meant to bolster OpenAI’s coding product, Codex, and reflect a belief within the company that task-performing agents are more valuable for the future than chatbots. That is the conceptual leap defining Phase 2 of the AI era.

The key idea is that a chatbot answers a prompt while an agent executes a goal. An agent plans multi-step workflows, writes and runs code, calls external tools, and operates with a longer leash of autonomy. Microsoft’s CEO, Satya Nadella, has also been vocal about this shift, framing Microsoft’s roadmap around “Cloud and AI infrastructure and solutions that empower every business to maximize their outcomes in the agentic computing era.”

The Codex and Coding Angle

Software development has been the proving ground for agentic AI. Coding tasks are testable, measurable, and economically valuable, which is why Codex sits at the center of the overhaul. It is also the battleground where Microsoft is most directly engaged. CNBC reported on June 1, 2026, that Microsoft and Google are intensifying efforts in the AI coding market to catch up with leaders like Anthropic and OpenAI, with the market projected to reach $30 billion by 2031.

The Super App Ambition and the Anthropic Race

The strategic ambition runs deeper than just a feature drop. Per Kernen’s read of the FT, “as OpenAI competes with Anthropic, it wants to transform ChatGPT from one of those bots into a so-called super app, combining both agents and coding tools.” Changes are expected in the coming weeks.

Anthropic has been winning enterprise and coding market share, and OpenAI’s super-app push is a direct response. The race is now about who owns the most capable agent platform.

OpenAI’s Upcoming IPO and How Investors Can Play It

Investors have widely speculated about an upcoming OpenAI IPO. Seeking Alpha reported on May 29, 2026, that OpenAI has reportedly engaged in talks with Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase regarding their potential involvement in its upcoming initial public offering. No date has been confirmed, and Michael Burry has compared the hype around the IPOs of OpenAI, Anthropic, and SpaceX to the dot-com bubble.

While OpenAI remains private, Microsoft is the cleanest way to invest in OpenAI today. Microsoft’s restructured OpenAI partnership disclosed in the Q1 FY2026 8-K gives Microsoft a roughly 27% stake in OpenAI valued at approximately $135 billion, with OpenAI contracted to purchase an incremental $250 billion of Azure services and Microsoft IP rights extended through 2032.

The Azure consumption story is already showing up in results. In Q3 FY2026, Microsoft posted revenue of $82.886 billion, up 18.3% year over year, with Azure and other cloud services growing 40% and the AI business surpassing a $37 billion annual revenue run rate, up 123% year-over-year. Commercial remaining performance obligations nearly doubled to $627 billion.

Microsoft stock has cooled even as the AI numbers have accelerated. MSFT is down 13.46% year to date and down 10.19% over the past year, trading near $412 against an average analyst target of $560.95 and a forward P/E near 21x. Prediction market participants on Polymarket assign a 60% probability that Microsoft will out-value Anthropic and OpenAI combined by year-end.

The Takeaway