OpenAI Employees Can Email Sam Altman Directly

OpenAI employees have a special email to reach CEO Sam Altman.

The email address is friction@openai.com, where employees can report company problems.

This email has been around for a while, but its use became more common when Fidji Simo joined the company in 2025. She went on a listening tour to understand company problems and made the friction@ process official. Irina Kofman was assigned to monitor the email and ensure issues were resolved. Simo also started a monthly company update on Slack to track progress.

Simo is no longer at OpenAI, but the processes she started are still in place. A former employee said the system helps leadership hear employee feedback.

A former employee thinks the email is a good thing because anyone can complain directly to Sam Altman.

Examples of changes made because of the email include a pilot program for parking spots and a better process for granting API credits.

However, a problem only gets resolved if Sam Altman and Greg Brockman think it's important. Another former employee said the process can create inefficiency.

The former employee said that reporting an issue can be very disruptive to teams that are already busy and under-resourced.

The email is a way for Sam Altman to get internal feedback in real-time. For external feedback, he can use other methods.

The company that owns Mashable is currently in a lawsuit with OpenAI.

OpenAI

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