Making ChatGPT Truly Useful

According to Simo, people are still underusing ChatGPT, despite how advanced the technology already is. She believes the intelligence of current models is ahead of how much value people are getting from them, suggesting that most users haven’t fully discovered ChatGPT’s real potential.

Her long-term vision is bold: she imagines ChatGPT as a “personal team” that could act as your shopper, travel agent, financial advisor, and health coach—all working together inside a single AI system. This goes beyond basic chatting; it moves toward life management through AI.

To push this vision forward, Simo has already backed several new product ideas. One is Pulse, a calendar-aware assistant built to give personalized insights based on your schedule. She’s also exploring a job and certification marketplace, plus more robust mental-health support tools within ChatGPT. These early initiatives show how she wants ChatGPT to evolve from “a chatbot” into a digital companion that actively helps you make decisions.

Monetization Is Here to Stay

Simo strongly believes that people will pay for meaningful AI experiences—not just extra features, but real value. That value might come through personalization, deeper insights, and life-assisting capabilities that genuinely save time and effort.

Under her leadership, OpenAI is exploring multiple business models:

• Richer paid plans for power users

• Possibly ads in the free tier

• Industry-focused AI agents built for specific professional needs

But Simo has made it clear—the paid version must be innovative, not just a slightly better edition of the free one. Users will only pay if ChatGPT becomes indispensable.

Compute Constraints — The Biggest Challenge

However, Simo also warns that OpenAI faces one serious obstacle: compute power. Advanced AI experiences require massive GPU resources, and currently, there just isn’t enough to scale everything she envisions.

She argues that not securing large compute deals is riskier than spending heavily, because without stronger infrastructure, OpenAI won’t be able to deliver the next level of AI features. In short—the future of ChatGPT depends on hardware just as much as software.

Scale & Growth Ambitions

Publicly, Simo has said she wants ChatGPT to serve billions of people, not just millions. That means more local language support, personalized tools, and an ecosystem that allows others to build on top of ChatGPT.

A major part of that strategy is the GPT Store—an expanding marketplace where third-party developers can build mini-AI apps and agents that users can interact with. This could open new business pathways, especially in education, customer service, healthcare, and productivity industries.

Safety, Trust & Privacy

Even as she pushes for monetization and scale, Simo insists that trust must remain a core pillar. She emphasizes responsible development—especially in mental health support, personal data usage, and sensitive decision-making.

Part of her perspective may come from her personal experience living with a chronic illness (POTS). Because of that, she sees big potential for AI in healthcare, but also understands its risks. This makes her approach more cautious and user-focused than purely commercial.

Why This Matters

For Users:
ChatGPT might soon become much more than a chat tool. It could evolve into an everyday helper—something that manages schedules, finances, shopping, travel, and work. For that, many people may be willing to pay.

For OpenAI:
This is a major strategic shift—from research-first to product-first. If Simo’s vision succeeds, it could turn ChatGPT into a sustainable, profitable AI platform.

For the AI Industry:
Simo’s roadmap could set a new standard for monetizing AI while raising serious questions about infrastructure needs, privacy protection, and ethical scaling.