Item — HN Reader

OpenAI doesn't have a moat unfortunately. One URL replacement away and you can switch most models in minutes. I have personally done this many times over the last year and a half.

It only takes labs to produce better and better models, and the race to bottom on token costs.

2 comments

> OpenAI doesn't have a moat unfortunately.

The moat is the branding, for most people AI means ChatGpt.

you could say the same thing about a search engine. if they keep an edge on brand or quality they can find ways of monetizing that attention

Honestly how google maintains a "moat" over other search engines could use a good business study. They've defied some pretty serious competitors there without an obvious lock in or anything.

(You can say default in various browsers and a phone OS and that's probably the main component but it's not clear changing that default would let Bing win or etc.)