OpenAI Pleads With Companies to Actually Pay for ChatGPT

OpenAI is going enterprise.

Enterprise AI

OpenAI has officially launched a new business-friendly version of its popular AI chatbot ChatGPT, in what seems like a clear attempt to woo companies into paying for features like "enterprise-grade security and privacy" and "unlimited higher-speed GPT-4 access."

The new product, ChatGPT Enterprise, which is entirely separate from the $20-a-month ChatGPT Plus, is an attempt to assuage fears over employees inadvertently giving up sensitive company data to the chatbot.

The timing of the company's announcement is interesting. The release comes amid reports that OpenAI is burning cash at an alarming rate as it struggles to monetize its flagship chatbot — so it doesn't exactly come as a surprise that it's trying to establish itself in the enterprise software space, where margins are typically wider compared to the consumer market.

And that's especially relevant as public interest in ChatGPT is reportedly waning right as OpenAI is starting to feel the pressure to develop a revenue model.

Leaky Chatbot

Earlier this year, a large number of companies including Google, Amazon, and Samsung warned workers that they need to be careful about leaking company secrets to OpenAI's algorithm.

To get ahead of these fears, OpenAI is now promising that it won't "train on your business data or conversations" if the company subscribes to ChatGPT Enterprise.

That leaves a glaring question: what about companies that aren't subscribed? Are their company secrets vulnerable to ChatGPT's prying eyes?

Then there's OpenAI's eyewatering burn rate. The company is likely chewing through staggering sums to keep ChatGPT running, leading to questions surrounding the company's long-term financial viability. Will an enterprise-grade solution allow the company to rake in enough cash to keep its core product running?

OpenAI is hoping that a high-speed connection to the bot, among other features, will be convincing enough. ChatGPT Enterprise will give companies an unfettered front-of-the-line access to the chatty bot.

"ChatGPT Enterprise removes all usage caps, and performs up to two times faster," OpenAI promised in its announcement.

The Sam Altman-led company is also promising that "more features" are "in the works" that allow companies to tailor the software to their needs even further.

"We’re onboarding as many enterprises as we can over the next few weeks," the announcement reads.

ChatGPT isn't the only AI chatbot on the block, with Google's Bard and Anthropic's Claude 2 also competing in the ongoing AI arms race.

OpenAI has aimed its sights at enterprise customers to further position itself as the winner — but whether its sales pitch will end up resonating with enough of them remains to be seen.

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