OpenAI opens ChatGPT to other apps at a fraction of the old cost

OpenAI has opened ChatGPT and Whisper to outside developers at a much lower price. Whisper is its tool that turns speech into written text. The company announced the move on Wednesday. Any app maker can now plug in these tools, so chatbots and voice features are likely to show up in more of the apps you already use.

What changed

OpenAI released what is called an API for both products. An API is a doorway that lets one company's software use another company's technology. Developers also get the latest model, called ChatGPT 3.5 Turbo, which launched alongside the announcement.

Developers could already use OpenAI's technology through an older tool. The new offering makes it cheaper and easier to reach.

The new prices

• ChatGPT: $0.002 per 1,000 tokens, which OpenAI calls 10x cheaper than its existing GPT-3.5 models.
• Whisper: $0.006 per minute of speech turned into text.

A token is a small chunk of text that the system reads or writes. OpenAI said it has cut the cost of running ChatGPT by 90 percent since December. It said it is now passing those savings on to developers. In December 2022, CEO Sam Altman had called the cost of running ChatGPT "eye-watering."

Who is already using it

Snap announced My AI earlier this week. It lets Snapchat Plus subscribers message ChatGPT's chatbot inside Snapchat. Instacart, Shop (Shopify's consumer app), Quizlet and Speak have also added ChatGPT. Their uses differ, but they mostly show off the chat feature and AI-driven recommendations.

What is not clear yet

The announcement does not say which apps will add these tools next. It also does not say whether lower costs for developers will mean lower prices for users. For now, the clearest sign is that adding a chatbot or voice feature just got cheaper, and more companies are likely to try it.