Sam Altman’s OpenAI may have a ‘Sora plan’ to boost declining ChatGPT user base

Sam Altman-led AI company OpenAI is planning to bring its AI video generator, Sora, to ChatGPT soon, reports The Information. OpenAI launched Sora as a standalone app in 2025 to rival short video platform TikTok. The platform allows users to create and share AI-generated videos. As per the report, the move to integrate Sora into ChatGPT comes amid a broader strategy shift at OpenAI to further boost its user numbers. The Information report further adds that Sora will continue to exist as a standalone app. However, since its launch, Sora installs have declined by 45% month-on-month in January, Appfigures data shows. The AI video tool also dropped out of the Apple App Store ranking in the US this year.

Declining user base of ChatGPT

The report comes amid a declining user base of ChatGPT amidst the Pentagon deal. The AI chatbot has lost millions of users ever since signing a contract with the Pentagon earlier this month. Also, ChatGPT user growth has slowed recently. Data from market intelligence firm Sensor Tower showed that Google’s Gemini has begun to outpace ChatGPT in terms of download growth, growth of monthly active users, and growth of time spent in app. As per the data, ChatGPT’s global monthly active users grew by around 6% from August to November, to reach roughly 810 million. During the same period, Google Gemini’s global monthly active users jumped by around 30%.

Sora chief Bill Peebles' plans to monetise app

In November last year, the company announced a pricing model for Sora. Users can buy ten extra video generations for $4. The current limit of 30 free videos per day remain unchanged. Confirming the pricing moel, Bill Peebles, OpenAI’s head of Sora then shared a post on X, noting that Pro users can still generate up to 100 videos daily. However, this amount could decrease if a user uses "more expensive configs." Peebles also cautioned that the existing free limit is likely temporary. He cited a common industry challenge, stating that there simply isn't enough computing power currently available to sustain unlimited unrestricted use.

In a thread of X posts, Peebles wrote: “We are launching the ability to buy extra gens in Sora today. We are doing this for two main reasons: First, we have been quite amazed by how much our power users want to use Sora, and the economics are currently completely unsustainable. We thought 30 free gens/day would be more than enough, but clearly we were wrong! This will let our pro creators get as much usage as they want to pay for. Second, this is a step towards a new Sora economy. We imagine a world where rightsholders have the option to charge extra for cameos of beloved characters and people. We will soon pilot monetisation, prioritising people and companies who got onto the platform early. This will also be a way for a new generation of sora creators to make money. Eventually, we will need to bring the free gens down to accommodate growth (we won't have enough GPUs to do it otherwise!), but we’ll be transparent as it happens. In the meantime, enjoy the crazy usage limits :) Rate limits for everyone are unchanged right now (pro users get 100/day, everyone else gets 30/day). We will need to increase the gens/day used by Sora 2 pro to make the economics work out (video models really are expensive!), but we're easing into it.”