CNBC OpenAI cuts prices for two of its GPT-5.6 AI models as companies grow sensitive to costs

OpenAI is indeed slashing prices across the board for some of its models, dropping the cost of two models in particular, ChatGPT 5.6 Luna, is already its cheapest model. That's dropping by 80%. And then you have another model, Terra, which is dropping by about 20% in terms of price. They're also adding what is known as fast mode, so two times the speed. That version is also more expensive, but it is, Kelly, the latest signal that price is really becoming a battleground in AI. OpenAI and Anthropic are seeing a lot more pressure lately from some of the open-source models we've talked about out of China. In those cases, those are cheaper than the top American versions. CFOs, at the same time, have been grappling with their own AI budgets, and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has been talking about this. He talked about it on the analyst call last night. They've also tried to undercut on price with their own models and have some cheaper versions out there. And that's really been the way to differentiate. Anthropic has also talked about price per task and more efficiency in this whole cost conversation. Meanwhile, Kelly, we are hearing that internally, OpenAI executives have been touting revenue growth and ChatGPT numbers to employees. CFO Sarah Friar, from what we're hearing, told employees at an internal all-hands meeting this week that they added more net new ARR in July than they did in all of the second quarter. This is according to a source who was in the room. You also had OpenAI Chairman Bret Taylor there talking about this. Executives from what we're hearing, to differentiate from Anthropic. ChatGPT, it's now has more than 1 billion users. And Anthropic has also dominated on coding, which I'm hearing that they have said that the consumer business is actually given OpenAI an edge, a bit of a hedge versus just being focused on enterprise.