\n<\/p>\n
At the HumanX AI conference in San Francisco this week, thousands of techies descended upon the city\u2019s Moscone Center, where discussion focused on the ways agentic AI is changing the business. Agents, which automate business and coding tasks, have begun to be deployed across industries \u2014 largely through enterprise and consumer-focused chatbots.<\/p>\n
Naturally, I wanted to know which chatbot was the most popular, and I consistently heard one name most often: Claude.<\/p>\n
Anthropic got shoutouts in many of the panels held throughout the week, but it also was a topic of discussion with the vendors I spoke to while perusing the convention room floor. The chatbot I didn\u2019t hear a lot about? ChatGPT. One of the vendors I spoke to made a point of telling me that he and his team used Claude a lot, while he felt ChatGPT and OpenAI had gone downhill \u2014 or, as the internet likes to say, \u201cfell off.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lately, that does not appear to be a particularly unique take. Indeed, it\u2019s not clear what will cure the perception that, despite a recent $122 billion funding round<\/a> and its upcoming IPO<\/a>, OpenAI has lost its footing\u2014or, at the very least, seems increasingly unsure of what the next step is. <\/p>\n Part of the problem may be a perception that the company lacks focus. Last month, OpenAI abandoned a number of long simmering side-quests (including its AI video generator Sora<\/a> and a troubled plan to launch a \u201csexy\u201d version of ChatGPT<\/a>), locking in instead on the focuses of business and coding services. In the meantime, a number of developments, including a recent New Yorker piece<\/a> that questioned whether the company\u2019s CEO, Sam Altman, was trustworthy or not, have spurred a certain amount of negative buzz<\/a> around the company. The company\u2019s work with the Trump administration hasn\u2019t won it any friends either, nor has its decision to inject advertising into ChatGPT. <\/p>\n During one of HumanX\u2019s discussions, Sierra co-founder and CEO Bret Taylor (who is also the chairman of the board of OpenAI) defended Altman when asked by Alex Heath about the New Yorker profile. \u201cI think Sam is one of the most visible leaders and executives in the world,\u201d said Taylor. \u201cIf you want to seek out detractors for him, you\u2019ll find them, and they\u2019ll be very vocal about it,\u201d he said, adding: \u201cI think Sam\u2019s remarkable. I think he\u2019s a remarkable leader of AI, and I really trust his character as someone who\u2019s worked with him.\u201d<\/p>\n The controversies and vacillations can make OpenAI\u2019s seem reactive rather than strategic, as if it\u2019s simply responding to events rather than shaping them. That said, when it comes to prominence and revenue, OpenAI and Anthropic are neck and neck \u2014 or at least, that\u2019s how it looks, with some data suggesting that Anthropic is catching up among business users<\/a>. The Wall Street Journal recently analyzed<\/a> their finances, showing that the two companies were \u201cthe fastest-growing businesses in the history of tech.\u201d In that sense, perhaps \u201cfalling off\u201d for OpenAI just means it\u2019s not the undisputed champ anymore. It has competition \u2014 which, in most industries, is normal.<\/p>\n Techcrunch event<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSan Francisco, CA<\/span>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t|<\/span>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tOctober 13-15, 2026<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n