- ChatGPT Plus subscribers can now use the GPT-5 Thinking model more than before
- Sam Altman confirmed the change on X following user backlash to the 200 message a week rate limits.
- GPT-5 launched last week to huge user backlash
Sam Altman has confirmed ChatGPT Plus users will get increased rate limits to use the reasoning capabilities of the brand-new GPT-5 AI model following backlash from paid subscribers.
The OpenAI CEO announced the change on X, where he tweeted, “We are significantly increasing rate limits for reasoning for ChatGPT Plus users, and all model-class limits will shortly be higher than they were before GPT-5.”
Altman also announced that a new UI change is incoming to show users which model is working in response to a prompt. These changes come following widespread backlash after the launch of GPT-5 last week and the removal of popular AI model GPT-4o (OpenAI has since reverted the removal).
Plus subscribers who pay $20/£20 a month for more powerful AI models, larger rate limits, and other benefits like early access to the latest offerings from OpenAI were disappointed by the limitations of the GPT-5 Thinking model to 200 messages per week, and while Altman says the company has rectified this, he doesn’t explicitly say to what extent.
today we are significantly increasing rate limits for reasoning for chatgpt plus users, and all model-class limits will shortly be higher than they were before gpt-5.we will also shortly make a UI change to indicate which model is working.August 10, 2025
One step forward, two steps back
When OpenAI announced a livestream to showcase the future of ChatGPT the excitement was palpable. Yet hours after Altman tweeted an image of the Death Star from Star Wars, fans were flocking to social media to voice their unhappiness with GPT-5.
While it looks like Altman and co are looking to right some wrongs, especially for their paid subscribers who felt like the premium product had been dumbed down overnight, it feels like GPT-5 could still be a disappointment to many.
We are at a point where what is expected to be a major AI innovation might end up being an incremental upgrade. After all, we’ve come to terms with AI chatbots as a useful tool in general, so the novelty factor has almost worn off.
Now, I’d suspect the future of ChatGPT upgrades will be filled with incremental speed boosts, new UI designs, and slight tweaks to improve older models. This, in turn, will lead to disappointment as Altman won’t be able to fulfill the legendary hype he puts on his own products, and users who have grown attached to a specific way of interacting with AI will get disappointed by ‘improvements’ that change the way AI responds to their prompts.
For now, OpenAI has rectified one of the sticking points from last week’s GPT-5 launch, but I have a feeling constant tweaks to please the company’s most loyal fanbase might just be the new normal.