Technology

OpenAI's o1 model is its most advanced, being able to "reason."

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OpenAI just unveiled a new subscription tier called ChatGPT Pro. Users can pay $200 a month for almost unlimited access to ChatGPT’s tools, and an exclusive new AI model.

OpenAI's plan to celebrate the holiday season with the 12 Days of OpenAI began with a gift for ChatGPT users and a possible envelope full of cash for the company. The company announced the official release of the OpenAI o1 model for ChatGPT and a new $200 subscription tier for businesses called ChatGPT Pro.

OpenAI o1 debuted as a preview option for ChatGPT a few months ago, with the company boasting about the model's improved reasoning and logic abilities. The model breaks down questions and tasks into smaller parts and solves each before responding to a user. The idea is that OpenAI o1 improves the accuracy and usefulness of ChatGPT's answers. The preview had its standout moments, but the general release is several steps up from even that and includes more features.

According to OpenAI's tests, OpenAI o1 can solve 83% of the problems in the International Mathematics Olympiad qualifying exam, a massive improvement on GPT-4o, which only scored 13%. The new model makes fewer errors than the preview version, cutting down on major mistakes by 34%. The model's response time is also improved, which is key since the preview version was notably slower than GPT-4o.

It’s not just about raw problem-solving power, either. OpenAI o1’s general release adds the missing image processing feature available with GPT-4o but with the boosted logic of the new model. You can upload photos, and the model can analyze, explain, or even create step-by-step guides based on what it sees. It can transcribe handwriting, estimate relative size, and even explain how a random part fits into a larger machine.

You can see how it works in a post on X from OpenAI below.

OpenAI o1 is now out of preview in ChatGPT.What’s changed since the preview? A faster, more powerful reasoning model that’s better at coding, math & writing.o1 now also supports image uploads, allowing it to apply reasoning to visuals for more detailed & useful responses. pic.twitter.com/hrLiID3MhJDecember 5, 2024

(Image credit: OpenAI) $200 ChatGPT Pro

The power of OpenAI o1 comes with a commensurate cost in computing power, which is why free ChatGPT users and even those paying $20 for ChatGPT Plus won't have unlimited access to the new model.

If you want that, you'll have to pay ten times the ChatGPT Plus price for ChatGPT Pro. Because of that price point, the $200 monthly fee is aimed at businesses and professional groups, but it does come with unlimited access to the new model. ChatGPT Pro also includes better, exclusive versions of the GPT-4o model and the Advanced Voice feature. OpenAI is also setting up a grant program to give medical researchers free access to ChatGPT Pro.

Even with limits on use, OpenAI o1 is an undeniable improvement on GPT-4o that ChatGPT users at the free and $20 level will want to play with. OpenAI o1 is not GPT-5, the enormous upgrade that OpenAI fans are salivating for, but it's not nothing.

With rumors of stalled progress on recent AI models, OpenAI will need OpenAI o1 and whatever else it announced during the next 11 days to stay ahead of the burgeoning competition from the likes of Google Gemini, Meta AI, and other AI chatbots.

Of course, the most important question is how the new model's sense of humor compares to its preview form. Judging from this real example, there's plenty of work to be done:

"Santa trying to get LLM to do a math problem
Prompting really hard and not working
How did he fix it?
He used Reindeer enforcement learning"

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• AWS reveals new way for customers to buy partner and company software
• "Buy With AWS" aims to streamline procurement process
• Customers can add options such as free trials and request demos

Buying new or upgraded software services from AWS is set to get a whole lot more straightforward thanks to a new launch from the company.

At its AWS re:Invent 2024 event, the cloud and services giant revealed a new "Buy with AWS" button allowing users to buy from the company with just a single click.

The service will be available to any companies selling their products through the AWS Marketplace, helping them boost visibility and discovery to new customers and partners.

Buy with AWS

(Image credit: AWS)

Similar to its existing "Buy with Prime" consumer shopping tool, the company says its new Buy with AWS button will allow for quick and secure purchases, with using simply needing to log into their AWS account to complete the transaction.

Being located entirely within AWS Marketplace also means customers can enjoy combined and consolidated billing, and manage their subscriptions in one easy location - including access to upgrades and updated offerings.

Users will also be able to request demos, access free trials, and submit cost requests, with access to cost optimization tools also meaning they can get the best deal possible.

"AWS Marketplace is a curated digital store for you to find, buy, deploy, and manage cloud solutions from Partners," a company blog post announcing the news noted. "Buy with AWS is another step towards AWS Marketplace making it easy for you to find and procure the right Partner solutions, when and where you need them."

The likes of Wiz, Bytes, Databricks and more have already been signed up for the service, with many others set to join soon.

The service is available now - you can find out more information here.

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Rolling serving cart.

• Microsoft's AI assistant can now see in the Copilot Vision preview
• Now out in a limited beta for a select few, Copilot can browse the web in Edge
• It's entirely opt-in, but you'll be able to converse with Copilot about what you're seeing

Similar to how Windows Recall will give AI access to what’s on your screen, Microsoft’s rolling out a similar experience for Copilot in a limited preview. Originally teased alongside the redesign of Microsoft’s AI assistant, Copilot Vision is now rolling out as an early preview for a select few in the United States.

As the name suggests, it will let Copilot see what’s on your screen, specifically within Microsoft’s Edge browser, so it can essentially browse the web with you. This way, you can hit it with topical questions about what you’re seeing – be it an illustration, a video, type-based text, or even handwriting. And no, you won't need to type these out, but you can converse with Copilot with just your voice.

In an announcement post published by Microsoft, Copilot Vision is described as: “When you choose to enable Copilot Vision, it sees the page you’re on, it reads along with you, and you can talk through the problem you’re facing together. Browsing no longer needs to be a lonely experience with just you and all your tabs.”

It seems like it’s almost being pitched as a companion, so if you’re browsing a shopping website like Amazon or Zappos, you could potentially ask for suggestions about what you’re looking at. Moreover, though, if you're browsing restaurant reviews, you could ask if any mention a specific event – like good for anniversaries – or ask for other recommendations. Seeing how it’s built directly into Edge – if you opt-in – Microsoft seemingly hopes that it’ll be called upon quite a bit and prove to be useful.

Microsoft is also sharing three of Copilot Vision being used for shopping, planning a trip to a museum, and gaming. The latter is almost similar to Game Assist in Edge, which reduces the need to alt-tab.

Suppose you’re concerned about privacy with Copilot Vision, which may be similar to Recall, which finally launched in November in beta. In that case, you'll be happy that Microsoft is taking a better approach with this new AI feature. It’s entirely opt-in and is only currently available via Copilot Labs to a limited number of Copilot Pro subscribers in the United States.

Furthermore, in its current build, Copilot Vision is only available for a select set of websites, and it seems Microsoft will only expand on that when it deems it ready to do so. Slow and steady will be the approach for adding more subscribers and expanding the sites it works with; Microsoft explains: “We’re taking our time to gather feedback, iterate on the technology, and will expand access to more Pro subscribers and more websites over time.”

If you’re in the early beta of Copilot Vision, another win is that after the session, the associated data and the context it’s used within will be deleted. So that information does not stick around Copilot, only the response to the tools “are logged to improve our safety systems,” says Microsoft.

If you’re keen to give it a go and are a Copilot Pro subscriber in the United States, you can check via Copilot Labs to see if Copilot Vision for Edge is available as a preview for you.

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