OpenAI expands free ChatGPT with unlimited text chats and GPT-5.6 access
- Marijan Hassan - Tech Journalist
- 2 days ago
- 2 min read
OpenAI has announced a major restructuring of its ChatGPT subscription tiers, lifting daily text message limits for non-paying users while deploying its lightweight GPT-5.6 Luna model as the default engine across Free and Go plans. The rollout comes as ChatGPT reaches a milestone of 1 billion weekly active users worldwide.
Upgrading the Free Tier with Unlimited Texting
Under the new policy, Free and Go tier subscribers can send unlimited text messages without triggering standard rate-limit barriers. While heavy compute features, such as image generation, file uploads, data analysis, and voice modes, remain subject to standard usage caps, basic text interaction is now completely unconstrained.
The updated default engine, GPT-5.6 Luna, replaces the outgoing GPT-5.5 Instant model. OpenAI's internal benchmarks indicate that GPT-5.6 Luna reduces factual errors by approximately 62% compared to its predecessor when evaluating financial, medical, and legal queries.
Additionally, non-paying users receive a dedicated "Think" button, allowing the model to allocate extra processing time per prompt for complex multi-step reasoning, math, and structured problem-solving.
Granular Controls for Plus and Pro Subscribers
For paid subscribers, OpenAI is deploying an upgraded build of its flagship GPT-5.6 Sol model, tuned to provide more direct answers with tighter formatting and fewer mistakes involving dates, numbers, and sources.
Subscribers on Plus and Pro plans also receive an interactive reasoning slider across web, mobile, and desktop interfaces. The UI control enables users to dynamically adjust the model's processing effort depending on task complexity:
Instant: Rapid responses for everyday queries.
Medium & High: Standard and extended reasoning powered by GPT-5.6 Sol for multi-step research, planning, and coding.
Extra High & Pro: Maximum compute allocation using GPT-5.6 Sol Pro for complex technical workflows and long-running assignments.
Competitive Positioning in the AI Market
The expansion of free tier capabilities follows a broader push across the generative AI sector to retain daily user engagement amid intensifying competition from rivals like Google and Meta. By combining unlimited free text conversations with granular reasoning controls for power users, OpenAI aims to defend ChatGPT's position as the default conversational AI interface.
