OpenAI launches new AI model and desktop version of ChatGPT

OpenAI on Monday launched a new AI model and desktop version of ChatGPT, along with a new user interface.

The update brings GPT-4 to everyone, including OpenAI's free users, CTO Mira Murati said in a livestreamed event. She added that the new model, GPT-4o, is "much faster," with improved capabilities in text, video and audio.

"This is the first time that we are really making a huge step forward when it comes to the ease of use," Murati said.

For OpenAI, it's one of the company's biggest announcements since its August launch of ChatGPT Enterprise, the AI chatbot's business tier. That tool was in development for "under a year" and had the help of more than 20 companies of varying sizes and industries, OpenAI COO Brad Lightcap told CNBC at the time.

OpenAI, Microsoft and Google are at the helm of a generative AI gold rush as companies in seemingly every industry race to add AI-powered chatbots and agents to key services to avoid being left behind by competitors. Earlier this month, OpenAI rival Anthropic announced its first-ever enterprise offering and a free iPhone app.

A record $29.1 billion was invested across nearly 700 generative AI deals in 2023, an increase of more than 260% from the prior year, according to PitchBook. The market is predicted to top $1 trillion in revenue within a decade.

Some in the industry have raised concerns about the speed at which untested new services are coming to market, and academics and ethicists are distressed about the technology's tendency to propagate bias.

After ChatGPT's launch in November 2022, it broke records at the time as the fastest-growing consumer app in history, and now has about 100 million weekly active users. OpenAI says that more than 92% of Fortune 500 companies are using the platform.

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