OpenAI to monetise ChatGPT for sustainability
By Chisom Nwatu
OpenAI, the company behind the popular AI-powered chatbot, ChatGPT, has said it is considering monetising the AI tool in a bid to ensure long term sustainability.
The company disclosed this in an announcement on its official Discord server, where it noted that the monetised version of ChatGPT will be called ChatGPT Professional.
The ChatGPT tool which is currently free to use has gone viral for its ability to help people write essays, emails, poems, and even computer code.
According to the AI research and development company, the professional ChatGPT will include some benefits such as no “blackout”, meaning that the platform will always be available, unlike the current free version. It also stated that there will be no throttling even as users will have an unlimited number of messages with ChatGPT.
The company stated that those who fill out the waitlist form on its Discord server may be selected to pilot ChatGPT Professional. It, however, noted that the product is in its experimental stages and won’t be made widely available at its current stage.
Though the development is coming amid the rumours of plans by Microsoft to invest $10 billion in the AI tool, the deal, according to multiple reports citing people familiar with the matter, is part of a funding round with other investors involved that would value OpenAI at $29 billion.
However, while OpenAI and Microsoft are yet to comment on the rumour, the reports indicated that Microsoft will get a 75 per cent share of OpenAI’s profits until it makes back the money on its investment, after which the company would assume a 49 per cent stake in OpenAI.
ChatGPT is currently attracting global attention, with many people posting positive comments about its ability to provide answers to queries in a simple and straightforward manner.
Since its launch in December 2022, the tool has played a huge role in helping people compose music, understand complex topics, make jokes, write movie scripts, and even debug computer codes. Its popularity has soared significantly as it recorded its first one million users within five days of its launch.