Due to "overwhelming demand" following the recent debut of its GPT-4 Turbo model, OpenAI has temporarily suspended new user registration for its premium ChatGPT Plus service.
Last week, at the company's inaugural developer conference, OpenAI DevDay, it debuted the updated and less expensive Turbo language models, as well as bespoke GPTs - a new feature that lets paying customers to design their own chatbots.
The AI firm also said that about 100 million individuals use its products on a weekly basis, with over 90% of Fortune 500 organizations believed to be developing solutions on the platform.
Demand Increased by New ChatGPT Plus Features
ChatGPT Plus is the commercial version of OpenAI's massively successful ChatGPT chatbot. It costs $20 per month and includes a slew of premium features.
Previously, this meant access to OpenAI's GPT-4 big language model, as well as the ability to use ChatGPT plugins and take use of its DALL-E AI picture generator interface.
It now offers GPT-4 Turbo access as well as OpenAI's custom GPT generator, which allows you to create your own GPTs for a variety of particular purposes. Examples include creative design, education, and gaming, but you can actually develop one for anything and anything without any coding experience.
Unsurprisingly, this has sparked a lot of interest among ChatGPT members, so much so that the company has temporarily suspended signups.
ChatGPT Plus Forced to Shut Down Due to Excessive Interest
Simply said, the enthusiasm surrounding the new ChatGPT Plus features has been too much for OpenAI's servers to manage, with individuals rushing to join up for the premium tier based on its expanded capabilities.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman stated in an X (previously Twitter) post this week that the suspension in sign ups was to ensure that user experience was not harmed.
we are pausing new ChatGPT Plus sign-ups for a bit :(
— Sam Altman (@sama) November 15, 2023
the surge in usage post devday has exceeded our capacity and we want to make sure everyone has a great experience.
you can still sign-up to be notified within the app when subs reopen.
"The surge in usage post DevDay has exceeded our capacity and we want to make sure everyone has a great experience," he said in a post on the site.
That's quite odd, given that one of ChatGPT Plus's main selling points was that users would have access to the chatbot even when demand was high.
Is It Even Worth It to Pay for a ChatGPT Plus Subscription?
As a result, some individuals are questioning whether a ChatGPT membership plan is necessary, noting a limited number of prompts and the fact that Bing chat currently provides several ChatGPT Plus capabilities for free.
Other significant ChatGPT Plus features are quicker reaction times, increased stability, enhanced translation capabilities, and, of course, priority access to future features and enhancements.
If you spend a lot of time using the tool and are frequently blocked due to excessive traffic or slowed down in your job, a subscription may be exactly up your alley.
By the same logic, the basic and free ChatGPT version should suffice for more infrequent ChatGPT users who are mostly on the site out of curiosity.
Microsoft Renames Bing Chat to Copilot, Enhancing Competition with ChatGPT
In less than a year after integrating a ChatGPT-like interface into its Bing search engine, Microsoft is rebranding its AI chatbot from Bing Chat to Copilot. Despite an initial focus on competing with Google in the AI search market, Microsoft is now positioning Copilot as its primary offering for consumers and businesses, directly challenging OpenAI's ChatGPT. 
The move comes shortly after OpenAI reported that 100 million users engage with ChatGPT weekly, indicating a significant user base for AI chatbots. Copilot is now presented as the free version, accessible in Bing and Windows, with a paid option called Copilot for Microsoft 365. Microsoft emphasizes Copilot's independence from Bing, offering a dedicated domain at copilot.microsoft.com. Business users log in with an Entra ID, while consumers require a Microsoft Account for the free Copilot service.
The rebranding underscores Microsoft's effort to establish Copilot as a standalone experience and direct competition to ChatGPT, signaling a shift away from Bing as the primary platform for its AI endeavors. However, Microsoft maintains that Bing remains integral to many Copilot experiences.
When Will ChatGPT Plus Subscriptions Be Available Again?
It is also important to note that subscriptions can be terminated at any moment. Of course, if you can get your hands on one.
There is no news on when the subscriber sign-up list will reopen. Altman, on the other hand, stated that consumers may sign up for a queue and be alerted via the app.
ChatGPT Plus is available in over 100 countries, including the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and India.
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