According to a strategy document from last year, OpenAI sees hardware as an important part of its long-term plans for ChatGPT.
OpenAI is working on a major update to ChatGPT, aiming to turn it into a powerful personal assistant that not only understands users but also becomes their main way of interacting with the internet.
This vision was detailed in a confidential internal document from 2024 titled “ChatGPT: H1 2025 Strategy.” The document surfaced during legal proceedings related to the U.S. government’s antitrust case against Google. Although much of the content is blacked out, what remains suggests OpenAI plans to build an AI companion that’s smart, personal, and always accessible.
Instead of just being a chatbot on websites or mobile apps, OpenAI wants ChatGPT to assist with all parts of life. At home, it might help with cooking ideas or answering questions. While traveling, it could find directions, suggest restaurants, or help you stay in touch with people. At work, it could take notes or help you prepare presentations. Even during quiet moments, it could serve as a thoughtful companion to help you relax or reflect.
The document also highlights OpenAI’s interest in developing hardware — suggesting that dedicated devices could make ChatGPT more useful and reliable. The company believes physical tools will be key in building the next generation of smart assistants. In line with this goal, OpenAI recently announced the acquisition of Jony Ive’s AI hardware startup, io, in a \$6.4 billion all-stock deal.
According to the strategy paper, OpenAI wants to evolve ChatGPT in early 2025 into a highly capable assistant — one that knows the user well and helps with anything a skilled and emotionally aware person using a computer could handle.
Thanks to improvements in models like GPT-4.5 and GPT-5 (referred to as 02 and 03 in the document), ChatGPT can now handle more complex tasks, use tools like computer access, and communicate more naturally using multimodal features like voice, images, and text.
The document describes this next-gen AI as having both broad and deep abilities — able to assist with general tasks like finding a place to live, planning a trip, or writing an email, as well as more advanced work like programming or legal research.
OpenAI also acknowledges the challenges ahead, including competition from big tech companies that may try to prioritize their own products. The company supports rules that would give users the freedom to choose ChatGPT as their default assistant on different platforms.
Despite the competition, OpenAI believes it has what it takes to lead — including a strong brand, cutting-edge research, powerful computing resources, and a fast-growing, dedicated team.
