The decision came straight from OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. But why did OpenAI make this move?

Overwhelming Popularity of chatgpt online
ChatGPT has quickly become the world's most popular AI chatbot. But with great popularity comes great demand. OpenAI revealed that usage levels of ChatGPT Plus subscriptions have exceeded its current capacity.

Altman stated that the usage of ChatGPT Plus is currently too high for OpenAI to provide the quality of service they want to deliver. So they had no choice but to hit pause on new signups.

Sudden Spike in Demand
In the recent OpenAI event where new ChatGPT features were unveiled, there was an unexpected massive spike in demand for paid subscriptions.

One of the announced features was users being able to create personal versions of ChatGPT. There was also a new system introduced to monetize ChatGPT. This sudden surge likely contributed to the decision to temporarily close Plus memberships.

Time Needed to Expand Infrastructure
OpenAI made it clear that this move is to give them time to strengthen the underlying ChatGPT infrastructure in order to handle the influx of demand. Adding more servers, optimizing the system, and expanding capabilities takes time.

No Capacity for New Memberships
While current ChatGPT Plus subscribers can continue using the service, OpenAI stated they simply don't have the infrastructure capacity to take on new members at this time. The pause will remain in place until subscriptions are reopened.

Unclear When Subscriptions Will Reopen
OpenAI did not provide a specific timeline for when ChatGPT Plus subscriptions will become available again. They noted it depends on the infrastructure upgrade progress. For now, hopeful new users will have to wait patiently.

The temporary halting of paid ChatGPT memberships highlights the intense interest around this AI marvel. Once OpenAI scales up the backend technology, subscriptions are expected to be reopened to meet the high public demand.