On Sunday, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman shared significant updates for ChatGPT users. The first global release of the o3 series of artificial intelligence (AI) models, initially introduced as a research preview in December 2024, is set to launch. The o3-mini AI model will be accessible to both paid subscribers and free-tier users of the platform. Additionally, Altman announced that the newly released AI agent, Operator, will soon be available to ChatGPT Plus users.
OpenAI Is Releasing the First o3 AI Model
In a recent post on X (previously known as Twitter), Altman confirmed that the latest series of reasoning-focused large language models (LLMs), known as o3, will be offered to both paid users and those using the free tier of the AI chatbot. The o3 series serves as a successor to the earlier o1 models developed by the company.
The o3 series, which includes o3 and o3-mini, was first introduced during OpenAI’s holiday-themed 12-day shipping initiative in December. At that time, the company indicated that these new AI models would deliver superior performance compared to their predecessors, especially in areas such as coding, mathematics, and natural language processing. However, comprehensive capabilities and benchmark evaluations for the models were not disclosed.
Altman noted that the ChatGPT free tier will also gain access to the o3-mini model, though it may have significant restrictions. For example, users of the free tier could only utilize the o1 model for five queries per day. Conversely, Plus subscribers will enjoy the ability to make 100 queries daily with the o3-mini model.
In addition, Altman outlined several upcoming features for ChatGPT Plus subscribers. OpenAI plans to introduce its Operator AI agent to paid subscribers in the near future. Currently, the agent is available to Pro subscribers in the U.S. as part of a research preview, enabling autonomous task execution online based on user prompts, such as booking tickets, reserving tables, or purchasing products.
ChatGPT Plus users can also expect that the next AI agent launched by OpenAI will be available to them from the very first day, a benefit not afforded to the Operator, which was exclusively released for Pro subscribers.
Finally, Altman mentioned that Pro users will be receiving an advanced version of the o3 series model, referred to as o3 Pro, in the coming days.
