OpenAI ChatGPT’s AI chatbot is so good that too many people are using it, crashing its servers. The company is therefore launching a paid ChatGPT Plus service, which will be launched in the coming weeks.
ChatGPT will cost $20 per month, but don’t despair. OpenAI says it still plans to offer a free version of ChatGPT as well.
If you’ve ever used ChatGPT, you know how powerful the chatbot can be. ChatGPT can write code, poetry and short stories, and build philosophical and logical arguments. It’s so powerful, in fact, that students have started using it for homework, sparking a debate about whether it should be seen as an assistive tool, like a calculator, or a real cheat. . (An OpenAI tool developed to identify AI-generated text has some issues.)
The problem is that all the ChatGPT demand has made it increasingly difficult to access. The site frequently generates error messages stating that the site is too crowded to use. Even when ChatGPT is accessible, it can be slow to respond or generate responses. OpenAI said in a blog post that ChatGPT Plus will provide general access to ChatGPT, even during peak hours, along with faster response times. OpenAI said it will also use paid access to test new services.
Unsurprisingly, ChatGPT users helped train the AI further.
“We launched ChatGPT as a research preview so we could learn more about the strengths and weaknesses of the system and gather user feedback to help us improve its limitations. Since then, millions of people have provided feedback, we made several important updates and saw users find value in a range of business use cases, including writing and editing content, brainstorming brainstorming, help with programming and learning new subjects.
“We love our free users and will continue to offer free access to ChatGPT,” OpenAI added.
If you want to sign up for ChatGPT Plus, you’ll (somewhat ironically) have to join a waiting list – which, for now, is just a Google form you can “apply” to by indicating where you you find, why you use ChatGPT, etc. OpenAI hasn’t said when it will enable ChatGPT Plus, or how many users it will let in.