As OpenAI’s number of employees has reached 8,000, the artificial intelligence giant has deployed an unusual internal tool to cut through red tape via a special email address that gives workers a direct line to CEO Sam Altman.
The system is referred to as “friction” and enables employees to email friction@ to report any hurdles slowing down their work. Issues range from malfunctioning technical systems and inefficient processes to mundane office frustrations like insufficient IT vending machines.
The leadership group prioritizes complaints, and if they find them to be relevant, Altman or the President, Greg Brockman, himself would step in to resolve the issue.
This approach was adopted with vigour during fall 2025 when Fidji Simo came on board as CEO of Applications. On her “listening tour,” which lasted for three months, she found out that the employees always had one concern in mind about the firm losing its agility as it continued to grow.
The friction email has been useful in solving many of the actual issues, such as the pilot scheme of offering parking spots to workers who live far from the company to increase the efficiency of providing API credits. Even though Simo is no longer with the company, the friction@ process and Slack update process are still ongoing.
2026-08-12 23:41:00
