Users may wonder how much longer they can count on OpenAI’s popular ChatGPT bot remaining free as it transitions towards charging for more advanced versions. The business, which recently made public Microsoft’s multi-billion dollar investment in its technology, has proposed ideas for a subscription service called “ChatGPT Professional” that would provide improved access for a fee.
Is ChatGPT free?
The ChatGPT, also known as the Chat Generative Pre-Trained Transformer, has been sweeping the globe since its debut. It is an artificial intelligence (AI) language-based model created by the San Francisco startup OpenAI. Users can use the chatbot for free, although it is currently only compatible with web browsers.
On Android or iPhone cellphones, there is no app for the same. Users must go to chat.openai.com, ChatGPT’s official website, in order to use it. It is built on a broad language model that is particularly good at comprehending human language. It became widely known in the corporate sector after its publication in November 2022. It is possible to use ChatGPT for free as well as in its paid editions.
Does ChatGPT cost money?
Although the original version of ChatGPT is free, the platform also provides a paid subscription service called ChatGPT Plus, the new version that will cost $20 per month. Users of ChatGPT will first be able to access it in the United States, and it will then become available in additional nations and areas “soon.”
How soon the service will be accessible outside of the US is not estimated or indicated. But, the existence of a queue for US subscribers might be a sign.
Will ChatGPT stay free?
Sam Altman responded to the query by saying:
“We will have to monetize it somehow at some point; the compute costs are eye-watering.”
OpenAI, which converted to a for-profit business in 2019, cannot afford the maintenance costs so it is very likely that the service will not stay free for long. However, the launch of ChatGPT Plus challenges that notion.
However, when we asked ChatGPT the same question, this is what it said:
“As an AI language model, I don’t have control over pricing or business decisions. However, my creators at OpenAI have previously stated their commitment to providing free access to me for non-commercial use, which means that I should remain free to use on various platforms for academic, research, and personal purposes.”
How much does ChatGPT cost?
ChatGPT is currently free of cost for all users, commercial or non-commercial. However, there is a paid subscription service called ChatGPT Plus which will offer exclusive features to its subscribers including faster response time, higher priority, and a new experimental mode called Turbo that will generate even faster results. The paid plan will be available for $20 every month.
ChatGPT Free vs Paid
After around two months of limitless free use, OpenAI has finally revealed plans to partially commercialise ChatGPT, its popular AI chatbot. The chatbot will still be available to users for free, but those who subscribe to “ChatGPT Plus” on a monthly basis will get priority service and access to additional features.
ChatGPT has been considering a subscription-based business model for a time. Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, first suggested the idea in December. He described the operational costs as “eye-watering” in a Twitter post. OpenAI started a queue for the “experimental” update last month.
In the coming weeks, US customers on OpenAI’s waitlist will be given the opportunity to sign up for ChatGPT Plus. The premium version changes in the following ways.
Access during peak hours
Due to ChatGPT’s enormous popularity, some users encounter difficulties using the chatbot when the website is very busy. The holding screen that reads “ChatGPT is at capacity presently” will be familiar to regular users.
Faster responses
For simple enquiries, ChatGPT typically responds in a matter of minutes or even seconds. The promise of ChatGPT Plus is an even quicker response time. Long queries might occasionally cause the chatbot to stall, keeping consumers waiting.
Although the corporation is promising users with time-sensitive activities the possibility of quicker responses, the premium version’s potential power is unknown.
New features
Also, ChatGPT Plus guarantees early access to new functions and enhancements. Although the specifics of these new functionalities are currently unknown, OpenAI has already been updating the chatbot with minor upgrades.
The implementation of ChatGPT included feedback methods from OpenAI. Users can give the chatbot’s responses a thumbs up or down, and when something goes wrong, they can add more information.
This allows OpenAI to gather feedback. Significant updates will probably also be made to the free version, but paying subscribers might have first access to much-desired new features.
Why ChatGPT Could Remain Free Amid Paid ‘Pro’ Version
Astvansh stated that keeping a free version of ChatGPT will still aid the business in developing its technology.
In order to improve other versions of GPT, he stated:
“A free version will help gather data on how people are asking questions, and help it improve other versions of GPT.”
Companies are moving into the sector as computer capacity and other infrastructure needed to support these kinds of generative AI products advance. Yet according to Intel Capital investor Nicholas Washburn, it’s still unclear how the investment will produce a return.
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