How it all began: The subscription was actually a mistake

When OpenAI launched ChatGPT in November 2022, it was originally just a temporary demo. The company planned to shut it down after a month. But the product went viral and users immediately fell in love with it. OpenAI quickly realized it had a real product on its hands.

The ChatGPT Plus subscription at $20 per month (roughly 460 CZK) was created in response to overloaded server capacity. "We arrived at the subscription more or less by accident," admitted Nick Turley. It was a way to regulate demand — not a carefully thought-out business strategy. Later, the Pro plan was added at $200 (about 4,600 CZK) per month, promising unlimited usage and the fastest performance.

Why unlimited plans are starting to make no sense

Turley used an apt comparison: "Having an unlimited AI plan is like having an unlimited electricity plan. It just doesn't make sense." And he's right. Every query to ChatGPT consumes expensive computing power — the smarter the model, the more runtime computations (so-called inference) it needs. While older models could cover costs with a fixed monthly fee, new generations like GPT-5.5 are significantly more demanding.

To put it in perspective: running a single more complex request on GPT-5.5 can consume a hundred times more computing power than the same query on GPT-3.5. When millions of users then ask unlimited questions, costs rise rapidly. OpenAI isn't alone — Uber has had a similar experience, with its CTO revealing the company exhausted its AI tools budget in just 4 months.

What is OpenAI planning instead of fixed subscriptions?

OpenAI hasn't announced specific new plans yet, but several directions can be deduced from statements by both Turley and Sam Altman:

Pay-as-you-go pricing. Sam Altman has previously hinted that AI could be sold "like electricity or water" — meaning metered by actual usage. This is already how API services from Anthropic, Google, and OpenAI itself work, where you pay per token.

A subscription combined with limits. Instead of "unlimited," ChatGPT Plus could offer a certain number of queries or tokens per month, similar to how mobile carriers operate with data caps. Once exhausted, the speed would decrease or additional charges would kick in.

Ads for non-paying users. OpenAI is already testing ad display in the free version of ChatGPT. According to Turley, the goal is to maintain accessibility for users who cannot afford a subscription — advertising is intended as a way to fund free operation.

A broader trend: The entire industry is searching for a new pricing model

OpenAI isn't the only one moving away from traditional SaaS subscriptions. Microsoft, according to CEO Satya Nadella, is already considering billing "per agent" instead of "per user" — AI is becoming an independent colleague, not just a tool. Anthropic and Google have bet on pay-per-token models from the start. Even consulting firms like Globant are experimenting with token bundles within monthly subscriptions.

In short, the entire industry is shifting from the "pay and use unlimited" model to a "pay for what you actually consume" model. And it makes economic sense — tech giants plan to invest hundreds of billions of dollars this year in computing infrastructure to meet skyrocketing AI demand.

What does this mean for Czech users and businesses?

For regular users in Czechia, this mainly means uncertainty for now. ChatGPT Plus at 460 CZK per month is currently one of the most affordable ways to use cutting-edge AI without limits. If it switches to metered usage, the price could increase significantly for more demanding users — while occasional users could save money.

For Czech companies integrating ChatGPT into their workflows, it presents a new challenge: predictable fixed costs could become variable. Similar to cloud services, it will be necessary to monitor utilization and optimize usage. Companies that currently rely on unlimited plans for their employees should start budgeting with greater reserves.

The good news is that ChatGPT remains available in Czech and OpenAI has not announced any regional restrictions. Moreover, the Czech market isn't large enough for pricing changes to hit it sooner than global markets — but they are coming.

How to prepare for the change

There's no reason to panic yet. OpenAI hasn't announced any specific date for the change and Turley emphasized that the company wants to be "thoughtful" in how it adjusts the plans. However, if you're among the users who use ChatGPT intensively on a daily basis, it's worth keeping an eye on developments and possibly comparing alternatives: Claude from Anthropic, Google's Gemini, or European models like Mistral, which often offer more favorable pricing for European customers.