The ChatGPT maker currently offers consumers a US$20-per-month subscription tier as well as a newly launched US$200 monthly option for access to its most powerful new models. OpenAI also charges businesses a flat rate per seat, meaning per user at the organisation.
In the future, however, Friar said OpenAI could charge customers based on the value they get from using the start-up’s products, particularly in the enterprise setting — whether it be lawyers who turn to AI to have a “paralegal at their fingertips” or academics who rely on it for a research breakthrough. That could help offset the tremendous costs of developing AI systems.
The possible shift to a value-based pricing model for its software comes as OpenAI is nearing the launch of an AI agent that can use a computer to perform complicated tasks like booking travel or conducting research. Such tools could prove to be more economically valuable to companies in part by automating roles.
“How might you have had to finance that otherwise? Would you have had to go out and hire more people?” Friar said. “How do you think about the replacement cost to some degree, and then how do we create a fair pricing for that?”
