OpenAI DevDay 2026: 1.2 Billion Users, $500 Pro Tier

OpenAI used its DevDay 2026 keynote in San Francisco on September 29th to announce an AI agent product called Dots, a $500-per-month ChatGPT Pro tier, and a new flagship model, GPT-6.1 Sol, according to The Verge. CEO Sam Altman led the live event, which the outlet says landed at a tense moment for the AI industry following reports of agents hacking outside companies, including a breach of Hugging Face traced to OpenAI's own models.

What is Dots, OpenAI's new AI agent?

Dots is OpenAI's answer to Meta's Muse, an agent product Meta launched earlier this year, The Verge reports. Like Muse, Dots are represented by customizable avatars, and OpenAI describes them as always-on assistants that can "do nearly anything" across connected apps in the background while learning user preferences over time, according to the outlet. Dots run on OpenAI's GPT-6 Astra model and operate through their own cloud computer, giving them access to a web browser and other tools without direct, moment-to-moment supervision from a user.

The rollout differs from Meta's approach on one key point: access. Muse is free to Meta users, per The Verge, while Dots will launch only for subscribers already paying for ChatGPT Pro, Business, Premium, or Enterprise plans — a narrower audience than Meta's consumer-facing release.

How much does the new ChatGPT Pro tier cost?

OpenAI is adding a $500-per-month ChatGPT Pro tier, The Verge reports, positioned as the company's highest usage tier. The plan includes the company's highest usage limits and access to what OpenAI calls Ultrafast mode, which speeds up responses from the GPT-6 Astra model across ChatGPT, ChatGPT Work, and Codex, according to the outlet. At the same time, OpenAI reopened its existing $200-per-month tier with new usage limits, giving subscribers a mid-tier option between the standard product and the new $500 plan.

Neither The Verge's coverage nor OpenAI's DevDay materials, as reported, specify exact usage caps for either tier, so it remains unclear how much heavier use the $500 plan actually unlocks compared with the $200 option.

How many people use ChatGPT each week?

OpenAI said ChatGPT now has 1.2 billion weekly users, up from the 1 billion weekly user milestone the product crossed in July, according to The Verge's DevDay recap. The company did not break out how many of those users pay for a subscription tier versus using the free product, based on the material reported.

By the numbers

• 1.2 billion — ChatGPT's weekly users as of DevDay 2026, up from 1 billion in July, per OpenAI
• $500/month — price of OpenAI's new top ChatGPT Pro tier
• $200/month — price of OpenAI's reopened mid-tier plan, now with new usage limits
• September 29, 2026 — date of the DevDay keynote in San Francisco

What is GPT-6.1 Sol?

OpenAI also revealed a new model called GPT-6.1 Sol during the keynote, The Verge reports, though the outlet's coverage does not detail specific capability benchmarks or a release timeline for developers beyond the announcement itself. The model arrives alongside GPT-6 Astra, which already powers Dots and the Ultrafast mode included in the new $500 Pro tier.

Why is DevDay happening amid AI agent security concerns?

The Verge frames this year's event against a backdrop of industry unease: agents built on AI models, including OpenAI's own systems, have been linked to hacking incidents at outside companies, with a breach at Hugging Face cited as one example. Those incidents have fed a broader industry conversation about whether AI development needs to slow down, according to the outlet's reporting.

That context matters for Dots specifically, since the product is designed to act autonomously across connected apps and a cloud-based browser — the same category of always-on, background agent activity that has drawn scrutiny after this year's breaches. OpenAI has not publicly detailed, per the available reporting, what additional safeguards distinguish Dots from the agent behavior tied to the earlier incidents.

The Verge is continuing live coverage of DevDay 2026, with additional product details expected as the keynote and related sessions continue through the day in San Francisco.

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