OpenAI just made ChatGPT Plus free for millions of college students — and it’s a brilliant competitive move against Anthropic
1 min read
Summary
OpenAI will provide college students in the US and Canada with free access to its ChatGPT Plus subscription until the end of May.
This competes with Anthropic’s launch of Claude for Education, which helps students learn by using Socratic methods that encourage critical thinking and don’t provide direct answers to problems.
OpenAI’s subscription offer gives users access to its most advanced language model, GPT-4o, as well as image generation, voice interaction and advanced research tools.
The offer is a strategic move to capture students’ attention to influence workflow decisions in their future working environments, akin to the competition between internet browsers in the 1990s.
The move also raises questions about AI’s role in education and the boundaries of AI assistance.
Universities are also having to contemplate how to meaningfully integrate AI into the classroom and update century-old assessment practices.
This competition is not just for immediate market dominance but the influence over how an entire generation views AI integration in work and learning.