🥳Your Year With ChatGPT

PLUS: AI Drives Debt Boom | AI Boosts US Economy

December 23, 2025

Reading time: 5 minutes

🗞️In this edition

  • OpenAI rolls out year-end ChatGPT review

  • AI boom drives record bond issuance

  • CEO BofA says AI boosting economy

  • In other AI news –

    • Nvidia plans H200 AI chip shipments to China by mid february

    • Alphabet to buy Clean Energy developer intersect for 4.75 billion

    • 4 must-try AI tools

Hey there,

OpenAI launching a Spotify Wrapped–style “Year with ChatGPT” feels playful a fun, shareable way to celebrate how people use AI. But zoom out, and it’s really about lock-in and retention, turning everyday usage into identity and nostalgia. At the same time, Wall Street is placing its biggest wager yet on AI’s future, with corporate debt tied to AI infrastructure set to double as companies borrow hundreds of billions to build data centers before returns are fully proven. And sitting above it all, Bank of America’s CEO is calmly declaring that AI is already showing up in GDP numbers, while downplaying the risk if things go wrong.

We're committed to keeping this the sharpest AI newsletter in your inbox. No fluff, no hype. Just the moves that'll matter when you look back six months from now.

Let's get into it.

What's happening:

ChatGPT just launched "Your Year with ChatGPT" its version of Spotify Wrapped. The annual review feature rolled out to Free, Plus, and Pro users in the U.S., Canada, U.K., Australia, and New Zealand.

Eligibility requires "reference saved memories" and "reference chat history" turned on, plus meeting a minimum conversation activity threshold. Team, Enterprise, and Education accounts can't access it.

The feature gives personalized awards based on usage like "Creative Debugger" if you used ChatGPT to solve problems or work through concepts. It also generates a custom poem and image focused on your topics of interest.

OpenAI says the experience is "lightweight, privacy-forward, and user-controlled." It's promoted on the home screen but won't auto-open. You can also trigger it by asking ChatGPT directly for "Your Year with ChatGPT."

Why this is important:

ChatGPT's turning usage data into shareable content the same playbook that made Spotify Wrapped a viral cultural moment.

Wrapped works because it's personal, visual, and social. People screenshot their stats and flood social feeds annually. OpenAI's betting ChatGPT users will do the same, creating free marketing and reinforcing daily usage habits.

The awards system gamifies AI usage. "Creative Debugger" isn't just data it's identity. Users who see themselves as problem-solvers feel validated and engage more.

The custom poem and image are smart retention hooks. They're personalized enough to feel meaningful but automated enough to scale to millions of users without human input.

Our personal take on it at OpenTools:

This is growth marketing disguised as a fun feature.

Spotify Wrapped generates millions of social shares annually without paid promotion. OpenAI's copying that playbook to turn ChatGPT users into unpaid brand ambassadors. Every screenshot posted is free advertising.

Here's what we're watching: OpenAI mentioned "(We're wondering how this will look next year as ChatGPT embraces adult content in 2026.)" That's buried but critical. ChatGPT's planning to allow NSFW content in 2026. If your year-end review includes adult conversations, does OpenAI generate awards for that? Do they filter it out? Either way, awkward.

The real play? Retention. Annual reviews create nostalgia and lock-in. Once you've invested a year of conversations into ChatGPT, switching to Gemini or Claude means losing that history. Spotify Wrapped works because your music taste is tied to Spotify's platform. ChatGPT's Year works because your AI interactions are tied to OpenAI's platform.

Two predictions: (1) This drives a spike in social posts over the next week, creating FOMO for non-users. (2) Competitors roll out their own versions in 60 days Claude Year, Gemini Rewind, whatever.

The bigger question: does this actually increase retention, or is it just noise? Spotify Wrapped works because music is emotional. ChatGPT conversations are functional. Getting an award for "Creative Debugger" doesn't hit the same as "Top 1% of Fans" for your favorite artist.

What's happening:

Morgan Stanley predicts $2+ trillion in US investment-grade corporate bond sales in 2026 the most ever. That's a 25% jump to $2.25 trillion, driven by AI expansion, refinancing $1 trillion in maturing debt, and M&A activity.

AI-related debt alone is expected to more than double to $400B. Bloomberg Intelligence projects $3 trillion in combined spending on AI, cloud, and data centers by 2029 with debt becoming the "funding tool of choice."

Hyperscalers (Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, Oracle) could issue $700B more debt without credit downgrades, per Morgan Stanley. JPMorgan forecasts $1.81T in US bond sales. BofA expects $1.84T.

Europe's also seeing records. US companies selling euro-denominated bonds (reverse Yankees) hit €188.1B in 2025. Barclays predicts euro-denominated corporate bonds rising 6%+ to €836B.

Why this is important:

Corporate America's about to issue more debt than any year in history betting investors will keep buying as AI hype peaks.

$2 trillion in debt is a massive bet that AI infrastructure spending pays off. 

Companies are borrowing hundreds of billions to build data centers, buy GPUs, and fund cloud expansion before proving those investments generate returns.

Morgan Stanley's "credit cycle should burn hotter before it burns out" is a warning wrapped in optimism. They're saying: this boom ends badly, but not yet.

The hyperscaler debt capacity matters. Google, Amazon, Meta, and Oracle can borrow $700B more without downgrades. That's because their balance sheets are pristine but it also means they're about to leverage up hard for the first time ever.

Refinancing $1T in maturing debt isn't optional. Companies must roll obligations forward or default. If spreads widen significantly, refinancing costs spike and some companies face distress.

The demand question is critical. Investors bought aggressively when yields were high. Now the Fed's cutting rates, yields are falling, and spreads are tight. If supply explodes while demand weakens, spreads blow out and issuance freezes.

Our personal take on it at OpenTools:

This is the AI bubble's debt phase and it's about to get messy.

$400B in AI-related debt next year means companies are borrowing to fund infrastructure that hasn't proven profitable yet. OpenAI's burning cash. Most AI startups are unprofitable. But hyperscalers are issuing hundreds of billions betting it works out.

The hyperscaler leverage is wild. These companies historically avoided debt. Now they're issuing $700B because compute costs are exploding and they can't fund AI expansion with cash flow alone. That's a massive structural shift.

Here's the risk: companies are refinancing $1T in debt while issuing $2T in new debt. That's $3T hitting markets in one year. If demand weakens mid-year recession, geopolitical shock, AI disappointment spreads spike and issuance halts. Companies locked into expansion plans can't pivot fast enough.

The Fed rate cuts complicate everything. Lower yields mean investors demand tighter spreads for the same risk. But supply's exploding. Something breaks either spreads widen significantly or demand collapses.

Europe's reverse Yankee issuance at records means US companies are tapping global markets for cheaper funding. That works until cross-currency swaps turn unfavorable or European investors lose appetite.

Two scenarios: (1) AI delivers, companies generate cash flow, debt gets repaid, everyone wins. (2) AI disappoints, companies can't service debt, credit quality craters, spreads explode. There's no middle ground when you borrow $2T in one year.

The timing matters. If this debt hits markets before AI proves ROI, it's 2000-era telecom debt all over again billions borrowed to build infrastructure no one used profitably.

What's happening:

Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan said AI's starting to have a bigger impact on the US economy. "AI is kicking in more and more, and so it's not all attributable to AI, but that's having a marginal impact that's pretty strong."

BofA predicts 2.4% US GDP growth in 2026, up from ~2% in 2025. Moynihan credits AI investment as a "bigger contributor next year and the years beyond."

On AI bubble risks, Moynihan says his bank sees "relatively limited risk to the economy" if AI overheats and pulls back, since the sector's composed of a narrow group of companies. "As a lender we look at the leverage on these projects and make sure we're comfortable with that and the duration of the contract by the person who's going to commit to use the data center."

BofA's using AI internally. Erica, their chatbot launched in 2018, now answers 700 questions, up from 200. Moynihan says they'll apply more "augmented intelligence" across all businesses.

Why this is important:

The second-largest US bank just validated AI's economic impact and downplayed bubble risks.

Moynihan's been CEO 15 years. He's seen the 2008 financial crisis, COVID, and multiple tech bubbles. When he says AI's having a "marginal impact that's pretty strong," he's not hyping he's observing measurable GDP effects.

BofA upgrading 2026 US growth to 2.4% from 2% is significant. That 0.4 percentage point difference equals ~$100B in additional GDP. Moynihan's crediting AI investment as a key driver.

Our personal take on it at OpenTools:

Moynihan's either right or catastrophically underestimating concentration risk.

"Relatively limited risk because it's a narrow group of companies" is wild logic. Concentrated risk is worse, not better. If five hyperscalers over-leverage and AI underdelivers, the ripple effects hit cloud customers, data center landlords, chip suppliers, utilities, and banks holding the debt.

But he's got a point about contract duration. If data center leases are 10-19 years (like we covered earlier), tenant defaults are the real risk, not construction debt. BofA's underwriting the creditworthiness of companies like OpenAI, Oracle, and Meta not speculative AI startups.

The "narrow group of companies" comment reveals banking bias. BofA's exposure is primarily to hyperscalers with strong balance sheets. They're not lending to AI startups burning billions. Their risk assessment is accurate for their loan book but not for the broader economy.

If OpenAI, Anthropic, and smaller AI companies collapse, BofA's fine. But the venture ecosystem, secondary markets, and enterprise software companies betting on AI all take hits. Systemic risk isn't just about who holds the debt it's about confidence shocks.

Two takeaways: (1) Banks believe AI's driving real economic growth, not just hype. (2) They're confident their underwriting protects them from downside risk. Whether the broader economy's protected is a different question.

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We're here to help you navigate AI without the hype.

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– The OpenTools Team

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