OpenAI: Free Tier Upgraded to GPT-5.6 Luna, Paid Models Enhanced

OpenAI has significantly expanded ChatGPT's capabilities, benefiting both free and paid users simultaneously. This move reflects how leading AI labs are accelerating efforts to pass value on to users amid intensifying competition.

OpenAI announced on Thursday that it will switch the default model for all users to GPT-5.6 Luna this week. The company stated that, compared to the previous default model, GPT-5.5 Instant, Luna reduces the frequency of at least one factual error in responses by 62%.

Meanwhile, free users and subscribers to the low-cost Go plan will gain access to unlimited text chat and a new "Think" button, allowing users to actively select a higher-intensity reasoning mode when facing more difficult problems.

This upgrade directly impacts OpenAI's pricing strategy. Just last week, the company lowered the prices for two models, GPT-5.6 Luna and GPT-5.6 Terra. While price cuts typically occurred months after a model's release, this reduction took place only weeks after launch, indicating a clear acceleration in pace.

Luna Becomes New Default Model, Free Tier Features Significantly Expanded

GPT-5.6 Luna was launched in early July this year, positioned for its speed. OpenAI stated that the model shows significant improvement in factual accuracy compared to the previous default model, with a 62% reduction in error rates.

In terms of expanded user benefits, free users and Go plan subscribers will receive unlimited text chat and simultaneous access to the new "Think" button.

This feature allows users to independently trigger deeper reasoning for complex questions, further raising the intelligence ceiling of the free tier.

Paid Users Receive Sol Model Enhancements, New Reasoning Depth Adjustment Tool

For Plus and Pro paid subscribers, OpenAI has specifically optimized GPT-5.6 Sol to make it better suited for daily conversation and task scenarios, covering quick Q&A, web search, advisory consultations, planning, writing assistance, and decision support.

OpenAI stated that the optimized Sol will provide "more focused answers," reduce unnecessary formatting redundancy, maintain consistent tone, and lower error rates.

Additionally, paid users will receive a "slider" tool, allowing them to adjust the depth of thinking ChatGPT invests in generating responses, providing more flexible resource allocation for tasks of varying complexity.

Pricing Pressure Accelerates Value Passage, Competitive Landscape Forces Industry Speed-Up

The backdrop to this round of upgrades is a profound shift in the competitive landscape of the AI industry. The price shock brought by low-cost open-source models is pushing OpenAI and Anthropic to accelerate proving the justification for the premium pricing of their high-end models.

OpenAI's price cuts for GPT-5.6 Luna and GPT-5.6 Terra last week broke the precedent of adjusting prices only months after a model's market launch. This shift in pace indicates that market pressure has forced leading labs to respond quickly with pricing adjustments after product releases.

For investors, the intelligence capabilities provided by frontier AI free plans have already surpassed the actual needs of most ordinary users, while how enterprise customers can reasonably budget for advanced AI capabilities remains a key issue yet to be clarified in the industry.