ChatGPT is OpenAI's consumer-facing AI assistant, first launched in November 2022 and now among the most widely used software products on the internet. By August 2026 the product runs on the GPT-5.6 family, which reached ChatGPT on 9 July 2026 in three variants: Luna (the everyday model), Terra (mid-tier) and Sol (the flagship), with a higher-effort Sol Pro reserved for Pro and Enterprise. GPT-4o and o3 are long retired from the consumer interface.
The platform supports text, voice, images, code execution, file analysis, and live web search within a single chat interface. Standout capabilities added in the past year include Deep Research (autonomous multi-source report generation with citations), a significantly improved Advanced Voice Mode with realistic intonation and emotional range, and agentic tool use that lets reasoning models chain together search, Python execution, vision, and image generation in one workflow.
The most consequential change of the past quarter landed on the free tier. On 6 August 2026 OpenAI made GPT-5.6 Luna the default for Free and Go — replacing GPT-5.5 Instant — and began rolling out unlimited text chats to both tiers the week of 10 August, along with a Think button that lets Luna spend more time reasoning on a given message. OpenAI said responses containing at least one factual error were 62% less common with Luna than with the outgoing default. Paid tiers got a retuned Sol and a reasoning effort slider across web, mobile and desktop.
Six pricing tiers run from free to custom enterprise. The $8/month Go plan launched globally in January 2026. Pro is now sold at two usage levels, $100/month (5x Plus) and $200/month (20x Plus). Business is $20 per seat billed annually and includes over 60 data connectors; Enterprise requires a 150-seat minimum and an annual contract.
OpenAI was founded in San Francisco in 2015.
Key Benefits
- Capability breadth: One interface covers writing, coding, research, image generation, and voice, reducing the need to juggle multiple specialized tools.
- Tiered reasoning: The Thinking model handles difficult math, coding, and document tasks that the standard Instant model cannot, without requiring a separate product or subscription.
- Deep Research: Autonomous multi-source synthesis compresses multi-hour research tasks into minutes with cited output.
- Voice quality: Advanced Voice Mode produces contextually expressive, low-latency speech—useful for hands-free workflows and language practice.
- Enterprise readiness: Business and Enterprise tiers include SSO, compliance certifications, data-privacy controls, and admin workspace management.
Use Cases
- Writing and content creation — Drafts, edits, and reformats long-form content, emails, marketing copy, and reports with adjustable tone and style instructions.
- Software development — Generates, explains, and debugs code across major programming languages; executes Python in a sandbox for data analysis and rapid prototyping.
- Research and summarization — Deep Research mode queries live web sources and produces structured, cited reports on complex topics without manual browsing.
- Voice and hands-free interaction — Advanced Voice Mode enables real-time conversational assistance for commuting, accessibility needs, or language learning.
