- OpenAI has a waitlist for ChatGPT Professional, an "experimental" version that is faster.
- The company says ChatGPT Professional is "always available" and gives users double the daily searches.
OpenAI, the creator of the AI chatbot that's taken the internet by storm, has opened a waitlist for an "experimental" paid version it's calling ChatGPT Professional.
In a post on Discord, the company said it's starting to think of ways to monetize ChatGPT, because it's "one way we're considering to ensure its long-term viability." OpenAI said thoughts on monetization are "early," and that there's "nothing official to share yet."
The post includes a link to a Google Form to sign up for the waitlist for ChatGPT Professional, that is "always available," has faster responses, and includes at least double the amount of searches each day compared to the free version.
Users who are selected to have access to the pilot have to set up a payment process. In the waitlist form, OpenAI asks a series of questions about pricing, including what price would be too low for users to trust the quality of the chatbot, what price would be too expensive, and what price would make ChatGPT "a great buy."
On its Discord post, OpenAI said it's interested in talking with ChatGPT users for around 15 minutes to get early feedback on its professional version of the chatbot.
OpenAI did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment ahead of publication.
So far, the generative AI chatbot has been able to fix bugs in code, write cover letters, create musical pieces, and even help with replies on dating apps (to mixed results) that is all its own content. ChatGPT even has Google worried, with the tech titan reportedly issuing a "code red" due to fears of the chatbot's threat to its search engine.
Microsoft is reportedly in talks to invest around $10 billion in OpenAI, giving the company a $29 billion valuation. OpenAI already received a $1 billion investment from Microsoft in 2019. Earlier this month, Microsoft was reported to be interested in using the tech behind ChatGPT for its Bing search engine to rival Google.
It's also been reported that OpenAI is in talks to sell existing shares to venture capital firms Thrive Capital and Founders Fund in a tender offer that would amount to around $300 million in share sales.
OpenAI said on its waitlist form that ChatGPT Professional "is an early experimental program that is subject to change," and that the company is not making access to the paid professional version "generally available," right now.
In December, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman tweeted that the AI chatbot is "incredibly limited, but good enough at some things to create a misleading impression of greatness." He went on to say the company still has "lots of work to do on robustness and truthfulness."