OpenAI may soon roll out paid version of ChatGPT

Artificial intelligence OpenAI is experimenting with a monetised version of its smart conversation AI chatbot ChatGPT. On its official Discord server, OpenAI said that it is considering the idea to ensure the tool’s long-term viability. 

To be called ChatGPT Professional, this version of the tool will offer benefits like all-time availability and no blackout windows, faster responses, and the facility to generate ‘as many messages as you need’. As reported first by TechCrunch, ChatGPT Professional is still in the experimental stage. 

The firm has released a waitlist to get access to the professional version, joining which requires users to fill a Google Form. The company is asking questions about why they want to use ChatGPT, and more. It also seems like OpenAI is using the registrations as a survey to determine how to price ChatGPT for consumers, and asks users to enter how much they will want to pay for access to the bot. 

There are questions like the most valuable thing you use ChatGPT for and how much the user is willing to pay to use the professional version. “Please keep in mind that this is an early experimental program that is subject to change, and we are not making paid pro access generally available at this time,” the disclaimer on the form reads. 

Since its release in November 2022, ChatGPT has garnered great interest. It can write ‘human-like’ essays, poems, and even code. In just a week of its release, the tool crossed the 1 million user mark.  

That said, ChatGPT has been at the centre of controversy too. Last week, the New York City schools banned ChatGPT, forbidding its access on all the devices and networks in the city’s public schools. The ban has been enforced due to concerns related to student learning, safety, and content accuracy. 

Alongside, there are reports of OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, getting a $10 billion investment from Microsoft. In 2019, Microsoft pumped $1 billion into OpenAI for efforts on achieving artificial general intelligence.