OpenAI has announced a significant upgrade for its free users. The upgrade includes the introduction of GPT-4o and custom GPTs, along with other features previously reserved for paid users.
The new features were first announced during OpenAI’s Spring Update, which also mentioned the upcoming voice-to-voice functionality for ChatGPT. While the voice functionality is yet to be launched, GPT-4o is now widely available for both free and paid accounts.
Free users will now have access to hundreds of thousands of custom GPTs created by companies and individuals. They will also be able to use data and code analysis tools, upload images for the chatbot to comment on, and of course, use GPT-4o. However, there are some limitations. Free users will not be able to create their own custom GPTs, generate images using DALL-E, and will only get about 10 messages at a time to GPT-4o before it reverts back to GPT-3.5.
OpenAI’s aim is to put advanced artificial intelligence tools in the hands of as many people as possible. This move is likely driven by increased competition from Microsoft with its GPT-4o-powered Copilot, Claude 3 from Anthropic, and Google. Microsoft has offered GPTs, image generation, and data analysis in the free version of Copilot since day one, using rate limits to set the paid plan apart. OpenAI is now following a similar approach.
While the free version of ChatGPT now includes access to GPT-4o, OpenAI’s most advanced general-purpose AI model, code and data analysis, image upload, and GPTs, it does not include the ability to create custom GPT chatbots, make images using DALL-E, or access to the ChatGPT desktop app for Mac. Despite these limitations, the upgrade is expected to drive up subscriptions as they’re only offering a limited number of messages using GPT-4o and advanced tools per day with the free plan.
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