Overview
- In fall 2025 Fidji Simo formalized the friction@openai.com process, assigned Irina Kofman to monitor the inbox, and started monthly Slack updates to track resolutions.
- The system remains active after Simo’s departure in early July 2026, with OpenAI leadership triaging submissions and sometimes escalating issues to Altman or Brockman for immediate action.
- Friction@ has produced concrete fixes, including a pilot to prioritize parking for long commuters and changes to how API credits are granted.
- Some employees say the inbox is an effective way to cut bureaucracy and surface ground-level problems, while others say escalations trigger disruptive, last-minute 'fire drills' that force teams to drop work.
- The practice reflects OpenAI’s speed-driven culture as it scales toward roughly 8,000 staff and could increase top-down interruptions and strain on already stretched teams.