OpenAI Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar said it would be reasonable to eventually charge business users thousands of dollars per month for the artificial intelligence software to better reflect the value the technology brings to businesses.
“I want the door to be open to everything,” Friar said in an interview, when asked about a recent report that the company has discussed a $2,000 monthly subscription for its AI products. “If it helps me travel the world with literally a PhD-level assistant for everything I do, there are certainly cases where that would make a lot of sense in the world.”
The ChatGPT maker currently offers consumers a $20 per month subscription, as well as a recently launched $200 monthly option for access to the most powerful new models. OpenAI also charges companies a flat rate per seat, i.e. per user at the organization.
Going forward, however, Friar says OpenAI may charge customers based on the value they get from using the startup’s products, especially in the corporate environment — whether they’re lawyers turning to AI to solve a “paralegal at your fingertips”, or academics who rely on it for a breakthrough in research. That could help offset the enormous costs of developing AI systems.
The possible shift to a value-based pricing model for its software comes as OpenAI nears the launch of an AI agent that can use a computer to perform complex tasks such as booking travel or conducting research. Such tools may prove to be more economically valuable to companies, in part by automating roles.
