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The Focus on GPT-5 and OpenAI’s Strategy
Currently, much attention is directed towards the public disagreement between OpenAI CEO and co-founder Sam Altman and Elon Musk on the social media platform X. However, Altman’s recent comments regarding the rollout of OpenAI’s latest large language model (LLM), GPT-5, are of greater significance to customers and enterprise decision-makers. Following a somewhat “bumpy” launch last week, which prompted some users to request access to older LLMs like GPT-4o and o3, OpenAI has granted access to the former. Altman is now focusing on aligning OpenAI’s infrastructure and usage limits to better serve the company’s 700 million active weekly ChatGPT users. Recent updates from the company include a comprehensive compute allocation plan and the introduction of additional third-party connectors for ChatGPT Plus and Pro plans.
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OpenAI’s Priorities for Compute Resources
In a post on X last night, Altman detailed how OpenAI plans to prioritize computing resources in response to the heightened demand for GPT-5. He stated that the primary focus will be to ensure that current paying ChatGPT users receive more total usage than they had prior to the release of GPT-5. Although specific figures for this increase were not provided, Altman previously mentioned that OpenAI was “trying” a limit of 3,000 messages per week for ChatGPT Plus subscribers using the GPT-5 “thinking” mode, which offers enhanced reasoning capabilities.
Interestingly, a report from an AI app developer indicated that OpenAI informed him that the usage limits for GPT-5 in the ChatGPT Team plan ($30 per user per month) are significantly lower, allowing only 200 “Thinking” messages per week when selected manually by the user.
API Access and Future Expansion
OpenAI’s availability of GPT-5 through its application programming interface (API) for third-party developers is also undergoing adjustments. Altman noted that OpenAI would prioritize API demand based on the currently allocated capacity and commitments made to existing customers. This means that current API users and those with contracts will have priority access to GPT-5, while new users may face longer wait times. Altman clarified that OpenAI could accommodate about an additional 30% growth in API users from its current capacity.
While OpenAI has not disclosed the exact number of API users recently, it did mention that it has “5 million” businesses paying for access to ChatGPT. Altman also indicated that OpenAI plans to roughly double its compute fleet over the next five months, although he did not specify the current size or type of infrastructure. This expansion is expected to alleviate capacity constraints and enhance performance for both ChatGPT and API users.
Recent Updates to ChatGPT
In a recent update, OpenAI enhanced ChatGPT’s functionality for subscribers of ChatGPT Plus ($20 per month), enabling connections to search for files and projects across various third-party accounts, including Box, Canva, Dropbox, HubSpot, Notion, Microsoft SharePoint, and Microsoft Teams. Additionally, OpenAI has updated the service to allow Pro users to connect to Gmail, Google Calendar, and Google Contacts, with plans to extend this feature to Plus, Team, Enterprise, and Edu plans soon. This means ChatGPT users can search their Gmail for specific emails or access their Dropbox or Notion workspaces during conversations without needing to switch between apps.