OpenAI, the organization behind the groundbreaking generative AI technology ChatGPT, has recently announced that users can now access the chatbot without needing to create an account. This decision aims to broaden the accessibility of AI technology, enabling more people worldwide to explore its capabilities. Since its launch in 2022, ChatGPT has quickly gained popularity, amassing over 100 million users across 185 countries each week, and has spurred major tech companies such as Google, Microsoft, and Meta to invest in similar technologies.

This move to provide account-free access to ChatGPT is seen as an effort to make AI more inclusive, allowing users to engage with the technology without the barriers of registration and account management. Although users opting for this method will forego features like saving chat history or customizing their experience, they still have the option to keep their interactions private and not contribute their conversations to model training data.

ChatGPT’s free access is available across various platforms, including web browsers, iOS, and Android devices, with OpenAI emphasizing its commitment to making AI accessible to anyone with curiosity about its potential. Despite the removal of the account requirement, the best experience with ChatGPT—including features like image generation, voice control, and access to the latest information via the internet—remains within the OpenAI Plus subscription, priced at $20 (approximately £16) a month.

The free version of ChatGPT will have limitations, particularly in its knowledge base, which is capped at information up to January 2022. Meanwhile, the Plus subscription, powered by the more advanced GPT-4 AI, can use Microsoft Bing to search the internet for the most current information. The introduction of account-free access by OpenAI positions ChatGPT competitively against other AI chatbots such as Microsoft CoPilot and Google Gemini, which also offer free access with internet searching capabilities.

This strategic move by OpenAI is part of a broader trend toward democratizing AI technology, ensuring that more individuals have the opportunity to explore and understand the potential of AI without financial or technical barriers.