ChatGPT users discover '$42 Professional Plan'

Users have the option to sign up for early access to "ChatGPT Professional" after OpenAI said earlier this month that it was looking into methods to monetise its AI chatbot ChatGPT. Now, some members claim they have been given access to a $42 per month pro tier.

There has been no notification from OpenAI or confirmation that this is an official test. James Vincent from The Verge said that before ChatGPT Professional officially launches, functionality and pricing are subject to change.

As OpenAI said earlier this month: “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.”

What does $42 a month bring you in light of that? 

You get a quicker response time, more dependable access (since ChatGPT is frequently unavailable), and "priority access to future features", according to screenshots posted by users who were granted early access.

A developer who works on several AI projects, Zahid Khawaja, uploaded a video of the top tier operating on both desktop and mobile (as well as a screenshot of his payment to OpenAI as proof). The system obviously replies more quickly than the free version, Khawaja pointed out.

Cost is the trickier issue, though. Many users complained and expressed disgust about the $42 price on the official ChatGPT Discord.

“If it made me money I could justify the 42/mo but in my country, this is a good percentage of the minimum wage,” said one user.

“I very much wanted to pay for a plan but 42$ is just too much,” said another.

“42 USD is not too much for peeps who are heavy users and wish to become ‘superhuman’ with the help of AI. It will be too much for too many though,” said another.

It is obvious that users' opinions on any price would rely on their need for the service, as another commenter pointed out. 

There are many anecdotal reports of people utilising ChatGPT to expedite their work, and for those people, $42 per month is probably a reasonable investment, similar to that of any other software subscription. However, users from countries like Pakistan may find it difficult due to Purchasing Power Parity.

Casual users, meanwhile, will have to trust that the free version continues to exist and maintains feature parity with the professional version. Given the lack of comparable services, $42 is probably a speculative initial attempt at pricing from OpenAI. Ultimately, even a little cost will be an effective filter to evaluate how helpful ChatGPT actually is.

It is important to keep in mind that this year will see enormous growth in the market for AI chatbots.