The next step in the artificial intelligence industry appears to be reasoning models. Some of the biggest players in the AI segment have already launched their own “reasoning” products. Of course, OpenAI had to be on that list. Now, OpenAI has launched o1-pro as an improved version of its AI reasoning model, promising more accurate and reliable answers.
OpenAI announced o1 in mid-September 2024. At that time, the new model was only available as a preview API for developers. In December, the firm rolled out o1 capabilities to ChatGPT users. However, only subscribers to the expensive ChatGPT Pro tier ($200 monthly) have access. Now, OpenAI seems to be following a similar strategy with o1-pro, launching it as an API and for select developers.
OpenAI’s o1-pro promises consistently more reliable outputs, for a price
According to OpenAI, the o1-pro AI model has more computing resources than o1, which allows it to consistently provide better answers. The main improvement appears to be reliability, a key aspect in professional sectors dedicated to researching complex topics, for example. “O1-pro in the API is a version of o1 that uses more computing to think harder and provide even better answers to the hardest problems,” said an OpenAI spokesperson.
The o1-pro API is available to developers who have spent at least $5 on OpenAI API services. Furthermore, o1-pro is significantly more expensive than o1 in terms of price-to-token. More specifically, one million input tokens (about 750,000 words) cost $150, and the firm charges $600 per million tokens generated by the model. For reference, this doubles the price per token of GPT-4.5 and multiplies that of o1 by 10.
Still, OpenAI is confident that o1-pro’s capabilities will attract developers. Only time will tell if the company’s strategy bears fruit. OpenAI already seems more willing to release tiers with very advanced features at fairly high prices. The ChatGPT Pro tier was clear proof of this. The company is even reportedly working on AI agents for businesses and professionals that could cost up to $20,000 per month.
It’s worth noting that ChatGPT Pro subscribers have had access to a preview of o1-pro since December. The model’s results weren’t impressive back then. However, things may have changed in the past three months. That said, early testers of the model detected improved reliability in the answers for some segments—especially coding and math.
