OpenAI reportedly building a social media platform to rival X and Meta

OpenAI is quietly testing the waters of social media, according to multiple sources cited by The Verge, potentially setting the stage for a new showdown with tech giants Elon Musk and Meta. The artificial intelligence powerhouse is reportedly developing a social platform, still in early prototype phase, that could either spin off as a standalone app or be integrated directly into ChatGPT.

Insiders say the prototype centres around ChatGPT’s image generation tool and features a feed-like structure reminiscent of X (formerly Twitter), the platform Musk owns and recently merged with his AI venture, xAI. While OpenAI hasn’t made any official announcement, CEO Sam Altman is said to be privately gathering external feedback on the concept.

The move, if made public, would escalate an already tense rivalry between Altman and Musk, who co-founded OpenAI before parting ways. In February, Musk reportedly made an unsolicited $97.4 billion offer to buy the company. Altman cheekily declined, saying, “no thank you but we will buy twitter for $9.74 billion if you want.”

Industry observers suggest a social layer could offer OpenAI something it currently lacks: proprietary, real-time user data that can be used to further train its models. This kind of data is already fuelling competitors. Musk’s Grok AI uses content from X, while Meta leverages the vast user base of Facebook and Instagram to power its Llama models.

Meta, too, is reportedly working on a social layer for its AI assistant, potentially pushing all three firms into a fresh turf war over AI-integrated digital communities.

Despite OpenAI’s busy slate, from GPT-4.1 upgrades to hardware partnerships, the mere existence of the social prototype suggests Altman’s ambitions extend far beyond chatbots. Whether the project becomes a full-fledged platform or remains experimental remains to be seen, but the intent signals OpenAI’s desire to grow beyond infrastructure and into experience.