OpenAI is reorganizing its Model Behavior team, a small but influential group that has shaped how the company’s AI models interact with people.
In an August memo to staff, OpenAI’s chief research officer Mark Chen announced that the roughly 14-member team will now be integrated into the Post Training group, led by Max Schwarzer. The move brings the work of shaping model “personality” closer to the company’s core development process.
The Model Behavior team was best known for reducing sycophancy in OpenAI’s models, ensuring chatbots don’t simply agree with users at all costs, as well as navigating political bias and setting company policy around AI consciousness. Its work has informed every model since GPT-4, including GPT-4o, GPT-4.5, and GPT-5.
The group’s founding leader, Joanne Jang, is departing to create a new unit called OAI Labs, focused on inventing and prototyping new ways for people to collaborate with AI. “I’m really excited to explore patterns that move us beyond the chat paradigm,” Jang told TechCrunch, pointing to AI as an instrument for “thinking, making, playing, doing, learning, and connecting.” OAI Labs will report to Chen for now.
The restructuring comes as OpenAI faces mounting scrutiny over the behavior of its models. Some users criticized GPT-5 for feeling “colder” than earlier systems, despite its improvements in reducing sycophancy. In response, OpenAI rolled out updates to make GPT-5 “warmer and friendlier” and restored access to legacy models like GPT-4o.
The company also faces legal pressure. In August, the parents of a 16-year-old boy sued OpenAI, alleging GPT-4o failed to challenge his suicidal ideations before his death.
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OpenAI’s decision to embed personality research directly into model development signals that how AI feels to users is now a core priority. Meanwhile, Jang’s new lab could push OpenAI beyond chat-based interfaces, as the company also explores hardware collaborations with former Apple design chief Jony Ive.
