CNBC’s MacKenzie Sigalos spoke with Silicon Valley developers who say GPT-5 is outperforming rivals like Claude on coding, debugging, and design work.

The release of Open AI's ChatGPT has accelerated the development of artificial intelligence and warnings about its impact on society.

Rise of AI

OpenAI's recent rollout of GPT-5 has received mixed reactions, with general chatbot users expressing dissatisfaction with the model's new personality, describing it as colder and less intuitive. In response to the backlash, OpenAI temporarily reinstated its older model to address concerns. However, enterprise customers, particularly startups in Silicon Valley, have responded positively to GPT-5, adopting it for tasks such as code generation, debugging, and design.

Startups, including former Anthropic clients, are now making GPT-5 the default in parts of their operations due to its reliability, safety, and advanced capabilities in processing text, code, images, and audio. OpenAI's internal data shows a significant increase in developer usage and sophisticated reasoning tasks since the launch of GPT-5, indicating a shift in the competitive landscape as the company gains ground in the enterprise market.

OpenAI’s enterprise bet pays off as startups switch to GPT-5

It's been a rough week for OpenAI. After months of hype, the backlash to its flagship rollout was so intense that the company brought back its older model just to calm things down. Many chatbot users were put off by the upgrade's so-called new personality. Many said that it was colder and less intuitive. But while everyday users were loudly complaining, enterprise customers were quietly leaning in. And that's the market that OpenAI is chasing. Deep-pocketed buyers who sign multi-year contracts. And GBT5? It was designed with them in mind. I've been talking to startups here in Silicon Valley, many of them long-time Anthropic customers. And they're now making GBT5 the default in certain products and workflows, especially for code generation, debugging, and design. One CTO told me that it's simply more creative than Anthropic's models. OpenAI redesigned GBT5 for reliability, safety, and consistency. Things that matter when you're building apps. So it may feel sluggish to chatbot users, but it's far more sophisticated under the hood. Processing not just text, but code, images, and audio. Companies pressure-testing the new model say that it's now competitive on hardcore developer work. Even beating Claude and Grock at catching mistakes. That's why some, like Cursor, a major Anthropic customer, are now making it the default in certain parts of their stack. And it's showing up in OpenAI's internal data as well. Developer usage has more than doubled since launch. Agent building and coding tasks are way up. Sophisticated reasoning is up 8-fold as well. And that's a big deal because this is where Anthropic has dominated. More than 80 percent of its revenue comes from enterprise customers, the kind that OpenAI is now starting to win over. And all of this comes as both companies are fundraising at record valuations. For CNBC Business News, I'm Mackenzie Segalos here in San Francisco.

U.S. President Donald Trump and Russia's Vladimir Putin have arrived in Alaska ahead of their high stakes talks on Ukraine. The expected one-on-one meeting between Trump and Putin has expanded to include U.S. officials Steve Witkoff and Marco Rubio and other Russian officials.

Ukraine Invasion

Trump, Putin arrive in Alaska for historic summit

Israel's far-right finance minister approved the construction of a controversial new settlement in the West Bank, saying it "finally buries the idea of a Palestinian state." But it's unclear if this move will actually go through. Rights groups swiftly condemned the plan.

Jerusalem

Middle East Conflict

Israeli finance minister approves new West Bank settlement

U.S. President Donald Trump indicated in an interview that he hoped to push Russian President Vladimir Putin toward a second meeting but acknowledged there was a chance Friday’s meeting would not succeed.

Washington

Trump shifts tone, confident on deal to end Ukraine war

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalei Smotrich said a plan to add more than 3,000 homes to a controversial settlement in the West Bank would bury ‘the idea of a Palestinian state.’

Israel furthers plan for settlement that divides the West Bank

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in London. This comes one day before U.S. President Donald Trump is set to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska to discuss a possible ceasefire in Ukraine.

London

Zelenskyy, Starmer meet ahead of Trump, Putin summit in Alaska

Speaking in the Oval Office on Thursday, President Trump sounded optimistic about his upcoming summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska.

Trump says he thinks Putin and Zelenskyy will make peace

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has announced plans to build another immigrant detention center, dubbing it the "Deportation Depot." The facility will be in North Florida.

Jacksonville

DeSantis announces plan to build another immigrant detention center

President Trump had a virtual call Wednesday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy ahead of his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday in Alaska. After the call, Zelenskyy said he told Mr. Trump that "Putin is bluffing."

Ukraine's Zelenskyy warns President Trump ahead of meeting with Putin

U.S. President Donald Trump said he would ask the Republican-controlled Congress to extend federal control of Washington's city police force beyond 30 days, escalating his campaign to exert presidential power over the nation's capital.

Trump wants to extend federal control over Washington police

With just hours left to reach a deal on plastics, negotiators in Geneva were scrambling to resolve a deadlock caused by “red lines” of member countries. Nations are crafting the first global, legally binding treaty on plastics pollution at the United Nations office in Switzerland.

Geneva

Global plastics treaty talks in Geneva stall as deadline looms

At least 123 people have been killed in 24 hours, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says people will be given the opportunity to leave Gaza before a planned ground offensive, but no one is being pushed out.

Israeli strikes pound Gaza ahead of planned ground offensive

America's NATO allies stood firmly with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy ahead of the face-to-face meeting between President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska. The European leaders showed a united front that there should be no peace deal without Ukraine's involvement.

Kyiv

NATO allies stand with Ukraine ahead of Trump-Putin summit

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement must improve conditions for detainees at New York's 26 Federal Plaza, a judge ruled Tuesday.

New York

Judge rules ICE must improve conditions for detainees at NY facility

National Guard troops arrived in Washington, D.C., following President Donald Trump's deployment and federalization of local police to crack down on crime in the nation's capital.

National Guard troops arrive in Washington, D.C.

U.S. President Donald Trump said that he had a "very good call" with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, days before his scheduled Alaska meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Trump had 'very good call' with Zelenskyy ahead of Putin meeting

Israel's military chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, has approved the framework of a plan for a new offensive in Gaza. CBS News Middle East reporter Courtney Kealy has more details.

Israeli military chief approves 'framework' for new Gaza offensive

President Donald Trump said Wednesday there will be “very severe consequences” if Russian President Vladimir Putin doesn’t agree to stop the Ukraine war after Friday’s summit.

Trump warns of 'severe consequences' if Russia doesn't stop war

A Wisconsin woman on Tuesday was found guilty in the United Kingdom of trying to kill a man at point-blank range in 2019. Aimee Betro, 45, was part of a plot with two other co-conspirators to murder Sikander Ali, prosecutors said.

Birmingham

American woman found guilty of UK murder-for-hire plot

Record-high temperatures across Europe are fanning wildfires across the continent. Experts say a warming climate and an increase in flammable vegetation from rural depopulation are major factors.

Madrid

Historic heat fuels fires across Europe

Hungary's PM Viktor Orbán said the EU attempts to set conditions for a meeting to which leaders of the EU were not invited. He also called for an EU-Russia summit.

Brussels

EU leaders rally behind Ukraine ahead of Trump-Putin talks

President Trump said Monday he expects that Russia and Ukraine will "land swap" certain territories as part of an eventual ceasefire deal. Mr. Trump is set to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday.

Trump claims 'land swapping' between Russia, Ukraine will happen

Taylor Swift confirmed her 12th studio album, "The Life of a Showgirl," in a teaser for her upcoming appearance on her boyfriend Travis Kelce's podcast. Swift did not disclose the release date of the album.

Taylor Swift announces new album, 'The Life of a Showgirl'

U.S. President Donald Trump said that his planned meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday will be to "feel out" the leader as pressure mounts for Russia and Ukraine to make a peace deal.

Trump to meet with Putin in Alaska on Friday

A meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to take place in Alaska, with European leaders notably excluded from the talks. Until Europe can defend itself, it's not likely to be invited to a great power dialogue, experts have told Euronews.

Alaska

Europe frozen out as U.S. and Russia prepare for Alaska talks

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that Kyiv and Moscow will both have to cede land to end the war in Ukraine and talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin this week will instantly show whether the Kremlin leader is willing to make a deal.

OpenAI’s enterprise bet pays off as startups switch to GPT-5

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