Is the office software war coming? OpenAI is preparing to launch "AI version of Office"

OpenAI secretly designs collaboration tools to accelerate penetration into the enterprise market, directly challenging Microsoft Office and Google Workspace.

According to media reports on Tuesday, OpenAI is developing document collaboration and chat communication features that directly compete with Google Workspace and Microsoft Office suite.

Insiders revealed to the media that the company is also developing software that supports multi-user communication within ChatGPT. Analysts point out that this collaboration feature may attract more enterprise users, especially those inclined to purchase one-stop productivity tool suites.

This will directly challenge Microsoft and Google's dominance in the enterprise productivity market, while potentially weakening Google's search engine market share.

OpenAI's Ambitions Unveiled

OpenAI's new feature design reflects Sam Altman's strategic vision of transforming ChatGPT into a "super intelligent personal work assistant."

Media reports state that discussions about collaboration features within OpenAI have been ongoing for nearly a year. According to insiders, product head Kevin Weil and other executives first discussed and showcased the design plan for document collaboration features nearly a year ago, but development progress was hindered due to resource and priority constraints.

In October last year, OpenAI launched the Canvas feature, allowing users to more easily use AI to draft documents and code, which may be the first step towards launching collaboration features.

In addition to collaboration, media reports reveal that its design also involves related productivity features such as file storage.

Recently, OpenAI also developed a note-taking tool that can record calls or meetings and import notes into Canvas, but due to ChatGPT's lack of basic productivity features like file storage, the tool's value is limited.

Financial data shows that by 2030, OpenAI expects enterprise-level ChatGPT subscription revenue to reach approximately $15 billion, a significant increase from $600 million in 2024, highlighting the enormous commercial potential of the productivity tools market.

"Direct Confrontation" with Microsoft and Google

It is anticipated that once OpenAI officially launches collaboration features, it will directly impact the core market of Microsoft Office and Google Workspace.

Enterprises typically prefer to purchase productivity application suites, such as Microsoft Office and Google Workspace, which now all include AI assistant features similar to ChatGPT.

OpenAI's entry may disrupt the existing landscape, and its collaboration tools and file storage features will make ChatGPT more attractive to enterprise customers, especially as it has already reached team or enterprise-level ChatGPT subscription collaborations with companies like Moderna and T-Mobile.

It is understood that OpenAI has recently introduced subscription discounts, causing dissatisfaction among Microsoft's sales team, further highlighting the intensity of competition between the two companies In addition, ChatGPT's search function has begun to divert traffic from Google's search engine. If collaborative tools are implemented, its market threat to Google will further expand.

The Subtle Shift in the Relationship with Microsoft

OpenAI's relationship with Microsoft is facing new challenges.

As OpenAI's largest shareholder and business partner, Microsoft has formed direct competition with OpenAI in areas such as AI assistants, programming support tools, and API model access. If OpenAI further challenges Microsoft's core productivity suite business, the relationship between the two may become even more strained.

Reports indicate that OpenAI is currently seeking Microsoft's approval for a restructuring plan for its profit-generating department (responsible for ChatGPT), with both parties attempting to secure significant concessions in the process