OpenAI announced a comprehensive update to ChatGPT, bringing significant feature improvements for both free and paid users. The default model for free and Go users has been upgraded to GPT-5.6 Luna. Starting next week, the official will fully open unlimited text chat permissions, eliminating the previous issue of free users frequently hitting usage limits. For complex questions requiring in-depth thinking, users can now call higher-level reasoning capabilities at any time using the new "Think" button. This feature is subject to anti-abuse security measures to prevent misuse, and existing restrictions on file uploads and image generation still apply.

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For Plus and Pro paying users, OpenAI updated the GPT-5.6 Sol model in the chat interface, making its responses more factually accurate and more focused. The newly added slider feature is particularly eye-catching, allowing users to freely adjust the depth of thinking that ChatGPT uses when generating each response, enabling a flexible switch between quick answers and deep reasoning. Since this version of GPT-5.6 Sol is specifically optimized for everyday conversations, it will only be available in the regular ChatGPT conversation interface and will not affect the GPT-5.6 Sol version that drives Work and Codex functions.

Layered Strategy Covers All User Groups

This update reflects OpenAI's refined layered product strategy. Free users have received a stronger default model and unlimited text chat capabilities, lowering the barrier to AI use and helping to continuously expand the user base and resist the impact of competitors' free strategies. Paid users, on the other hand, get more accurate answers and adjustable thinking depth, meeting different scenario needs from daily Q&A to complex reasoning, further strengthening the value proposition of paid subscriptions.

The introduction of the "Think" button means free users can now call advanced reasoning capabilities on demand, rather than always using a lower-tier model, breaking the previous simple model hierarchy between free and paid users. The slider adjusting the depth of thinking gives users active control over the AI's response method, allowing them to make their own trade-offs between speed and depth. With GPT-5.6 Luna and Sol running in parallel, OpenAI is trying to cover the full spectrum of needs from light users to heavy developers with a more flexible product form, reinforcing user loyalty in competition with Google Gemini and Anthropic Claude.