OpenAI has officially expanded its subscription lineup in Australia today, introducing a new entry-level tier designed to bridge the gap between the free experience and the premium Plus offering.
The new tier, dubbed ChatGPT Go, arrives with a price tag of A$13 per month, offering a significantly more affordable entry point for Australians who find the standard Plus subscription a bit too pricey for their needs.
This move comes as part of a broader global rollout, but the local pricing is particularly interesting for the Australian market where exchange rates often push digital subscriptions toward the A$30 mark.
A new tier for everyday users
ChatGPT Go is specifically built for the everyday user who needs more than what the free tier offers but doesn’t necessarily require the professional-grade features found in the higher-end tiers.
Subscribers to this new tier will receive ten times more messages, file uploads, and image generation capabilities compared to the free version, ensuring most users won’t hit a ceiling during a busy day.
The engine behind this new tier is GPT-5.2 Instant, which OpenAI says is optimised for speed and efficiency across common tasks like writing emails, searching the web, or summarising long documents.
One of the big wins for Go subscribers is the inclusion of a longer memory and context window, allowing the AI to remember more details about your preferences and previous interactions over time.
This makes the tool feel much more personal and reduces the need to repeat instructions every time you start a new chat session to get things done.
Understanding the new subscription lineup
With this addition, OpenAI now offers a four-tier structure for individual users, starting with the Free tier for casual use and moving up to the new Go tier for everyday power users.
Above that remains ChatGPT Plus for those wanting premium performance and priority access, while ChatGPT Pro sits at the top for professional-grade tools and near-unlimited scale.
This local launch is a smart move to capture the segment of the market that has been hesitant to commit to a more expensive monthly recurring cost.
By offering a tier at A$13, OpenAI is making a strong play to become the default choice for students, hobbyists, and casual creators across the country.
“ChatGPT Go is designed for people who want expanded access at a lower price point — more messages, more uploads, and more image creation” – OpenAI Team, Australian Communications, OpenAI.
The future of advertising in AI
Beyond the new subscription, OpenAI has also pulled back the curtain on its philosophy regarding the introduction of advertisements within the platform.
While the word “ads” often causes a collective groan in the tech community, the company is attempting to be proactive by sharing its core principles before the first banner or sponsored link ever appears.
OpenAI has committed to the principle that responses in ChatGPT will not be influenced by advertisers, meaning the actual intelligence of the model remains objective.
The company has stated that ads will always be kept separate from the main interface and clearly labelled so users can distinguish between AI-generated content and paid placements.
Privacy remains a key talking point in this announcement, with a firm promise that your private conversations will not be shared with advertisers for targeting purposes.
For those who absolutely hate advertising, the premium tiers including Plus, Pro, Business, and Enterprise will remain entirely ad-free for the foreseeable future.
Rollout and availability
It is important to note that ads are not yet live for Australian users, as the company plans to begin testing the format on the Free and Go tiers in the United States first over the coming weeks.
This phased approach suggests OpenAI is treading carefully, likely aware that the user experience is the primary reason people have flocked to the platform over traditional search engines.
The update should be rolling out to Australian accounts starting today, so you can check your billing settings to see if the Go option has appeared for you.
As AI becomes more integrated into our daily workflows, the competition for our subscription dollars is heating up between Google, Microsoft, and OpenAI.
If you have been holding off on a subscription because A$30 was a bit too much, this might be the middle ground you have been waiting for to get more out of the platform.
For more information, head to https://openai.com/index/introducing-chatgpt-go
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