IBL News | New York
OpenAI launched a new way to interact with its ChatGPT chatbot: through an old-school 1-800 number: 1-800-CHATGPT.
By dialing the U.S. number (1-800-242-8478) from any phone device or messaging it via WhatsApp, users can access an “easy, convenient, and low-cost way to try it out through familiar channels” without needing an account.
At first, the company said callers would get 15 minutes free per month.
The WhatsApp version runs on a lighter model with daily usage caps, offering potential future upgrades like image analysis.
The announcement on Wednesday is intended to expand OpenAI’s reach beyond the tech-savvy crowd.
It follows a series of updates as part of its 12-day release event. The most notable announcement was the official rollout of Sora.
In October, the company debuted a search feature within ChatGPT that positions it to better compete with Google, Microsoft’s Bing, and Perplexity.
It’s all part of a growth plan for OpenAI to battle Amazon-backed Anthropic, Elon Musk’s xAI, Google’s Gemini, Meta, Microsoft, and Amazon in the generative AI market, predicted to top $1 trillion in revenue within a decade.
OpenAI closed its latest funding round in October at a valuation of $157 billion. The company also received a $4 billion revolving line of credit, bringing its total liquidity to over $10 billion.
