OpenAI Removes ChatGPT Rate Limits for Free Users, Upgrades GPT-5.6 Luna as Default Model

You Can Now Have Unlimited Text Chats Without Paying for ChatGPT - CNET

Katelyn is a reporter with CNET covering artificial intelligence, including chatbots, image and video generators.... Read full bio Your ChatGPT usage limits are about to get loosened if you're a free user. OpenAI said on Thursday that it is giving free users unlimited text chats, and the default model for paying users is getting upgraded. Usage limits are one of the biggest annoyances of using AI chatbots and other products. If you don't pony up for the $20 paid subscription -- or if your workplace doesn't pay for an enterprise plan -- you probably run into messages on ChatGPT telling you that you've reached your limit for the day. Now, these limits for text-only chats will be removed for free users. Limits on image generation, file uploads and voice tools will still apply. Free and paying users will have a new default model, GPT-5.6 Luna, the lightweight version in the company's newest model family. Luna has performed better than the current default, GPT-5.5 Instant, with OpenAI reporting that factual errors were 62% less common with Luna. There's also going to be a new "Think" button available for free users and subscribers on the $8 per month Go plan. This is supposed to help the AI answer harder questions by taking more time to process an answer. Plus and Pro users ($20 and $200 per month subscribers, respectively) should also see some improvements when they use GPT-5.6 Sol, the heavyweight new model. OpenAI said it tweaked Sol to be better at everyday tasks, like web research, writing, planning and making decisions. It should give honed or focused answers -- less unnecessary info and formatting. There will also be a slider tool where you can increase the amount of technical firepower you want in your prompt, like upgrading from GPT-5.6 high to extra high to pro. Luna will be the new default model starting this week, while the unlimited chats, new Think button and slider should be released next week. Don't panic if you don't see them right away; rollouts can sometimes take a few days. While unlimited chats might be nice if you use AI for school or work, it could be an issue for some vulnerable groups. We've seen more than a few cases (and subsequent lawsuits against AI companies) where people who use AI chatbots excessively develop and exacerbate some mental health issues. In one lawsuit, a mother alleges that OpenAI failed to enact necessary safeguards in order to keep her daughter engaged with ChatGPT. It's a similar concern that is underpinning several lawsuits against social media companies, saying they had deliberately addictive designs that resulted in harm for young and vulnerable users. OpenAI says it has added guardrails to the models so they "avoid romantic roleplay, age-restricted challenges, and presenting itself as a substitute for real-world relationships" for users under 18. (Disclosure: Ziff Davis, CNET's parent company, in 2025 filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.)

OpenAI will no longer limit how many texts free accounts can send to ChatGPT - Engadget

There will still be limits on image generation, voice mode usage and other features. OpenAI is making a major change to how it operates ChatGPT free and Go accounts. Starting next week, the company will no longer enforce rate limits on users of those accounts for prompts that involve only text. In effect, that change will allow you to talk with ChatGPT as much as you want. The company will continue to enforce separate limits for other forms of usage. For instance, adding files and images to your prompts will see you eventually hit a limit as a free or Go tier user, as will making use of image generation and ChatGPT's recently updated voice mode. OpenAI is also making GPT-5.6 Luna, the smallest model in its new GPT-5.6 family, the new default for Free and Go accounts. It will replace GPT-5.5 Instant, which had been the default since this past May. That change will go through this week. Users will also see a new "Think" button that will prompt GPT-5.6 Luna to take additional time to generate an answer. For text chats, free and Go users can use that feature without limit -- unless you combine it with other features, in which case your usage will count against a separate limit. If you're feeling left out as a Plus or Pro tier user, don't be; you're also getting enhancements to your ChatGPT experience. OpenAI is updating GPT-5.6 Sol, its current flagship model, to optimize it for everyday conversations. In ChatGPT, the updated system "delivers more focused answers, adapts its level of detail to the question, avoids unnecessary formatting, and offers a helpful correction when simply agreeing wouldn't be useful," according to the company. OpenAI is also introducing a new slider (akin to Claude's effort menu) that allows Plus and Pro users to decide how much "thought" ChatGPT puts into an answer. Removing rate limits, even if it's just for text chats, is a major milestone for OpenAI. The company didn't say how it managed the feat, but given rate limits are a reflection of inference costs (the amount AI providers pay for their trained models to process data), OpenAI may have made a major advancement there. A recent report from The Information suggested the company was close to a breakthrough. "This is a concrete step toward more abundant intelligence: making our latest models more widely available, improving the usefulness and reliability of the answers people get, and letting free users keep text chats going without a rate limit," OpenAI said today. "Access shapes opportunity, and this update gives more people the ability to keep asking, develop an idea, and get help when they need it."

OpenAI makes major upgrades for free and paid ChatGPT users. Here's what they are

Why it matters: Free AI plans from frontier labs now offer more intelligence than most people will use, while enterprises are still figuring out how to budget for advanced capabilities. Driving the news: OpenAI said it will shift the default model for all users to GPT-5.6 Luna this week. * OpenAI says that responses featuring at least one factual error were 62% less common with Luna opposed to the previous default model, GPT‑5.5 Instant. Luna, which debuted in early July, was built for speed. * Unlimited text chats will be given to free users and those who subscribe to the low-cost Go plan. Both free and go users will also see a new "Think" button, which lets users "select higher reasoning for harder questions," the company says. Plus and Pro users will see GPT-5.6 Sol improved to handle "everyday conversations and tasks, like quick questions, web research, advice, planning, writing, and decisions," OpenAI says. * "This version of GPT-5.6 Sol delivers more focused answers," the company said, with less unnecessary formatting, a consistent tone and fewer mistakes. * It will also feature a new "slider" tool "for choosing how much thought ChatGPT puts into an answer," OpenAI says. The big picture: Cheaper Chinese open-weight models have increased pressure on OpenAI and Anthropic to prove their models justify the higher costs. * OpenAI recently cut the prices for two of its GPT-5.6 models -- GPT-5.6 Luna and GPT-5.6 Terra -- last week. * Price cuts have previously come months after a model launches, not weeks. Go deeper: Finding your goldilocks GPT-5.6 model