Online chabot ChatGPT has quickly become one of the biggest inventions in artificial intelligence, and while it has managed to keep the internet entertained for free so far, that could all be about to change.
OpenAI, the company behind the technology, has now announced that it will introduce a ChatGPT Pro subscription plan. This will cost $20 (£16) a month, giving paying users a host of key benefits to make the chatbot easier to use.
This will include access to ChatGPT even during peak periods, faster response times, and priority access to new features and improvements.
ChatGPT generates human-like responses to user text prompts, the technology capable of writing jokes, essays, poems and full movie scripts.
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An OpenAI spokesperson told BBC Science Focus: "Initially, this pilot will only be available to subscribers in the United States, and we will begin inviting people from the waitlist in the coming weeks. Access and support to additional countries and regions will be coming soon."
While a free version does remain, the pay-to-use Pro model will likely be intended to offset the costs. Every search that is done via ChatGPT costs the firm a small amount of money, mounting up with the millions of searches being done.
Right now, offering access even during peak times will be the major benefit of a premium service, as the software is frequently unavailable due to the high number of users. However, if interest for ChatGPT decreases, OpenAI may need to introduce new features to justify ChatGPT Pro.
ChatGPT has exploded in users and interest over the last couple of months, proving to be a concern to a number of industries, especially education. In an attempt to quell these concerns, OpenAI has also released a tool aimed at identifying content that originally came from an AI.
Although some experts argue ChatGPT could be an integral part of future internet search engines, others point out how the technology does not comment on its own accuracy and could be used to create misinformation. Additionally, the software is programmed using pages posted on the internet before 2022 and therefore cannot answer questions about recent events.
OpenAI is also responsible for programmes such asDall-E 2,Point-E, which generate images based on user text prompts. Other text-to-image AI services, such asMidjourney,NightCafeandCraiyonare also available for public use.
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