ChatGPT’s advanced AI costs $200/mo. Now it’s free for Windows users

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Microsoft is making a significant move to lower the cost of top-level AI thinking, placing what appears to be unlimited access to OpenAI's o1 model directly within the Copilot's new "Think Deeper" feature.

What's crucial to note is the idea of "free": OpenAI released the o1 model in December, with its CEO Sam Altman saying it would be the most advanced model available. However, there's a caveat: two subscription options are available. OpenAI's premium ChatGPT Pro costs a considerable $200/month for unrestricted access to the model. The company's more affordable ChatGPT Plus, priced at $20/month, also offers access to the o1 model, although with certain limitations.

You'll need to sign in with a Microsoft account.

Make sure the "Think Deeper" control is turned on, or highlighted, before entering your request.

Think Deeper is basically a more in-depth version of Copilot, which has recently been giving shorter and less detailed responses. It's not a search engine, by the way - when asked, Think Deeper confirmed that its information is up to date as of October 2023.

Instead, Think Deeper is excellent at what you might call long-lasting research, finding connections between, for example, the evaporation cycle and hurricane development, or analyzing a specific situation or historical event. Think Deeper can write code and explain it too: “Create a simple Windows application that can be used to draw a maze based on the user's first name” generated a detailed process for developing the application, producing custom C# source files in a matter of seconds. (I haven't had a chance to test it out yet, though.)

A Microsoft representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The AI tool, which utilizes a "private chain of thought" to generate more complex responses, has shown significant improvement in solving software engineering challenges and logical problems, as measured by various benchmarks. However, it's highly likely that it will come with a price tag.