OpenAI Responds to SpaceX and Meta with Repurposed AI Tools
For most of the past three years, OpenAI has led the pack in artificial intelligence (AI) development. Now, rivals SpaceX and Meta, previously considered distant players in the AI conversation, have introduced products that demonstrate capabilities ChatGPT struggles to deliver to everyday users: performing real work without constant prompting.
According to a recent report, OpenAI is intensifying its efforts to counter the growing threats from SpaceX and Meta. The company’s response involves repurposing and rebranding existing capabilities rather than building entirely new systems.
OpenAI is developing new features aimed at addressing the challenges posed by SpaceX’s AI division and Meta’s latest product, Muse. The company’s leadership has discussed launching a dedicated personal assistant to directly compete with these new offerings.
OpenAI’s development moves highlight the competitive landscape in September 2026. The company is expected to repurpose and rebrand agentic capabilities already built into ChatGPT and Codex, which trace back to GPT-5’s release last year. This model was designed to handle longer, multi step tasks across connected apps such as email and calendars.
However, the capabilities of GPT-5 are not widely known among everyday users. The company’s approach emphasizes leveraging existing technologies rather than engineering entirely new systems.
Notably, OpenAI has brought on Peter Steinberger, the developer behind the open source personal agent platform OpenClaw, to drive the next generation of personal agents. CEO Sam Altman has stated that Steinberger’s work will “quickly become core to our product offerings.”
The new challenges from SpaceX and Meta have made the AI race more intense. SpaceXAI, now part of SpaceX after last year’s merger, launched Grok Bot in August. This tool operates as a coordinated team of AI agents, capable of logging into different apps and websites, retaining context across sessions, and sharing information. The timing is significant, as SpaceX has increasingly positioned itself as an AI and infrastructure business on Wall Street.
Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas has been a vocal proponent of this narrative, citing Grok’s monthly user base and SpaceX’s growing compute capacity business as reasons for valuing the company above its aerospace peers. However, the recent dip in Grok’s monthly active users by roughly 5% quarter over quarter raises questions about the durability of SpaceX’s AI ambitions.
Meanwhile, Meta’s Muse, launched on September 8, has garnered significant attention. This personal AI agent can send emails, book travel, manage payments, and organize a calendar on its own, running on a dedicated virtual machine. Muse has already surpassed ChatGPT in daily downloads and accumulated more downloads than Anthropic’s Claude and SpaceXAI’s Grok app within its first two weeks.
Wall Street reacted positively to Muse’s launch, with Meta shares jumping and analysts like JPMorgan’s Doug Anmuth upgrading the stock. Wells Fargo’s Ken Gawrelski also raised his price target for Meta, citing robust usage numbers. Muse hit 264,000 downloads in a single day and 448,000 daily active users within its first 12 days.
Neither SpaceX nor Meta has had a clean run. Amazon blocked Muse from its e-commerce marketplace due to security and privacy concerns, highlighting that speed and trust are not always aligned in AI applications.
OpenAI still boasts the largest user base and brand recognition in conversational AI. However, these advantages have not prevented Muse from outpacing ChatGPT’s download curve or keeping Grok Bot out of enterprise workflows.
The speed at which OpenAI can transform its existing tools into something as immediate as its rivals’ new products will determine the longevity of this competitive landscape.
This story was originally published by TheStreet on September 23, 2026, where it first appeared in the Technology section. Add TheStreet as a Preferred Source by clicking here.