OpenAI will offer a new version of ChatGPT for a monthly subscription of $20

The San Francisco Artificial Intelligence Lab has generated tremendous interest in its chatbot since its release in November.

In November, OpenAI wowed the world when it launched an experimental online chatbot called ChatGPT that could answer questions, write poetry, and riff on almost any topic it was offered.

Now, the small San Francisco startup has announced that it will soon offer a commercial version of the chatbot, ChatGPT Plus, for $20 per month.

Subscribers will receive round-the-clock access to the chatbot, faster responses and access to new features, OpenAI said. The company will continue to offer a free version of the service, which is only available to a limited number of people during peak hours.

ChatGPT is the most striking example of a new kind of chatbot that has captured the imagination of the business world and the general public in recent weeks. Google, Meta and various start-ups have built similar systems that are just beginning to emerge on the internet.

Derived from more than a decade of research, these chatbots represent a radical change in the way computer software is built and used. They're about to reinvent Internet search engines like Google Search and Bing, talking digital assistants like Alexa and Siri, and email programs like Gmail and Outlook.

They can also generate text that can be reused in almost any context. Students are already using ChatGPT to write term papers. Businesses generate email and other marketing materials.

But technology comes with caveats. Since the abilities of these chatbots are created by analyzing large amounts of digital text published on the Internet, they cannot distinguish between fact and fiction and may produce text that is biased against women and people of color.

Initially, ChatGPT Plus will only be available to users in the United States. OpenAI has launched a waiting list for the service and will begin inviting people on the list to join in the coming weeks.

The company said that she would soon expand the service to other countries.

Chatbots like ChatGPT are exceptionally expensive to operate. In a recent tweet, Sam Altman, chief executive of OpenAI, said the company was spending "single-digit pennies" for every chat on the service. That can quickly add up, considering over a million people used ChatGPT in the first few days after release.

The new subscription service is designed to make some of that refunded as the company continues to offer a free version of the chatbot, said OpenAI spokesperson Hannah Wong-Silva.