Heads Up, AI Fans! Looks Like “Free” AI Tools Are Growing Up (and Getting Pricier!)
Hey everyone, John here! You know I love bringing you the latest on AI in simple terms. Well, today we’ve got some news that’s a bit of a reality check, especially if you’ve been enjoying all the super-smart AI tools that have been popping up, many for free or with very generous limits. It seems like the “all-you-can-eat” buffet for some advanced AI features might be coming to an end, and GitHub’s popular Copilot tool is leading the charge.
So, What’s Changing with GitHub Copilot?
If you’re a coder, or even just interested in how AI is helping people write software, you’ve probably heard of GitHub Copilot. It’s like having a super-helpful AI assistant that suggests code for you. Recently, GitHub announced they’re starting to enforce monthly limits on how much you can use their most powerful AI models within Copilot.
They’re calling this a “consumptive billing experience,” which basically means you get a certain number of “premium requests” each month if you’re a paying Copilot user. If you go over your allowance, you’ll either have to wait for next month or pay a little extra for each additional request – starting at $0.04 each. This isn’t a total surprise, as GitHub’s CEO, Thomas Dohmke, first talked about these changes back in April.
Lila: “John, hang on a second! What exactly are ‘premium requests’ and ‘AI models’ in this case? It sounds a bit technical.”
John: “Great questions, Lila! Think of ‘AI models’ as different brains. GitHub Copilot can use several different AI brains to help you code. Some of these brains are super, super smart and advanced – these are the ‘premium’ ones, like Anthropic’s Claude 3.5 or Google’s Gemini 2.0 Flash. A ‘request’ is simply when you ask Copilot to do something using one of these brains – like generate some code or explain something. So, ‘premium requests’ are like special tokens you get each month to use these extra-smart AI brains. If you use up all your tokens, you can’t use those specific brains until your tokens refresh or you buy more.”
How Do These New Limits Actually Work?
GitHub is setting up different levels of access based on what Copilot plan you have. It’s a bit like different mobile phone plans giving you different amounts of data.
- Copilot Pro users get 300 premium requests per month.
- Copilot Business users also get 300 premium requests per month.
- Copilot Enterprise users get a higher allowance of 1,000 premium requests per month.
And for those who need even more power, GitHub is rolling out a Pro+ plan for $39 a month. This gives you 1,500 premium requests and access to what they call “the best models, like GPT-4.5.”
Now, here’s an interesting twist: not all AI models use up your “premium requests” at the same rate. GitHub has a “multiplier system.”
Lila: “Whoa, a ‘multiplier system’? That sounds like it could get complicated, John!”
John: “It might sound a bit like math class, Lila, but think of it like an arcade. You have a bunch of tokens (your premium requests). A simple arcade game might cost just 1 token to play. But a super fancy, new virtual reality game might cost 50 tokens! It’s the same here. Using a very advanced model like GPT-4.5 has a 50x multiplier, meaning one interaction with it uses up 50 of your premium requests. On the other hand, a model like Google’s Gemini 2.0 Flash only uses 0.25x, so four interactions would count as just one premium request. The good news is that you can still make unlimited requests using GitHub’s basic model, GPT-4o, though they might slow you down if everyone is using it at once.”
What if you use up all your monthly allowance? GitHub has set the default spending limit to $0. This means if you run out, your extra requests will just be rejected unless you go into your settings and specifically say, “Yes, I’m okay with paying for more.”
Why Did GitHub Make This Change?
When GitHub first announced these upcoming changes in April, they said it was about making their AI services “sustainable.” They’ve been adding more and more powerful AI models for different tasks, and these things cost a lot of money to run.
Lila: “John, what does ‘sustainable AI services’ really mean in plain English?”
John: “Good question, Lila! ‘Sustainable’ here means that GitHub needs to make sure they can afford to keep these AI tools running and improving in the long run. Imagine you built an amazing, helpful robot, but it needs a lot of expensive, special electricity to work. At first, you might let your friends use it for free because you’re excited. But eventually, to keep the robot working and make it even better, you’d need to figure out a way to cover the electricity bill. That’s kind of what’s happening here. These advanced AI models are like those power-hungry robots; they require huge amounts of computer power, which costs a lot.”
GitHub did delay putting these limits into action for a bit. Back in May, they said they wanted to make it easier for users to see how many premium requests they were using and give them more control over their spending. So, they’re not just flipping a switch without warning.
How Are People Reacting to This?
For big companies using these tools (enterprise customers), these changes are a sign that AI tools are moving from being cool experiments to serious business services. This means they’ll need to start budgeting for them and thinking strategically about how they use them. GitHub does provide ways for organizations to track their usage, which is helpful.
However, not everyone is thrilled. On online forums, some GitHub Copilot users are complaining that the new limits are too low. One user even wrote, “300 per day is ok, per month is ridiculous.” Many feel these limits are designed to push people onto more expensive subscription plans.
Is This Just a GitHub Thing, or a Bigger Trend?
This isn’t just happening with GitHub. It seems to be a pattern across the entire AI industry. As AI services get popular and prove their worth, companies start to shift from offering lots of free access to more structured, paid plans. It’s like the free trial period is ending for the industry as a whole.
Here are a few examples:
- Midjourney: This is a popular AI tool that creates images from text descriptions. When it launched, it offered 25 free images. Now? No more free trials. You need a paid subscription, starting at $10 a month. It’s like a bakery that used to give out free cookie samples but now, since everyone loves their cookies, you have to buy them.
- Runway AI: This platform helps create videos with AI. Their free version gives you a small, one-time batch of “credits” (like tokens). Paid plans give you more credits each month, but these credits often don’t roll over if you don’t use them – similar to some old phone plans where you’d lose unused minutes.
- Conversational AIs (like Anthropic’s Claude or OpenAI’s ChatGPT): Even these chatbots are seeing changes. Free users of Claude often have daily message limits. The free version of ChatGPT uses an older model (GPT-3.5) and might restrict access when lots of people are trying to use it.
Why the Big Push to Charge for AI? It’s All About the Benjamins (and the Bytes!)
The main reason for this shift is pressure on AI companies to actually make money and show they can run a sustainable business. Running these AI models is incredibly expensive. We’re talking hundreds of millions of dollars spent by leading AI companies just on the computer power and infrastructure needed.
Microsoft’s CEO, Satya Nadella, even said last year that Copilot was responsible for over 40% of GitHub’s revenue growth in 2024 and is already a bigger business than GitHub itself was when Microsoft bought it about seven years ago! That shows you how valuable (and potentially profitable) these tools are.
Lila: “John, you mentioned earlier that these companies spend a lot on ‘infrastructure,’ and the article mentions ‘venture capital funding.’ Could you break those down for us beginners?”
John: “Absolutely, Lila! ‘Infrastructure’ in this context refers to all the physical and digital stuff needed to make these AI models work. Think of massive data centers filled with powerful computers, specialized chips, and super-fast internet connections. It’s like the roads, bridges, and power plants of the AI world – very expensive to build and maintain!
And ‘venture capital funding’ is money that investors (venture capitalists) give to young, promising companies that they believe will grow and become very successful. It’s like someone giving a talented chef money to open their first fancy restaurant. Initially, the chef might offer some dishes at a low price or even free samples (like free AI trials) to attract customers. But eventually, those investors want to see the restaurant (the AI company) start making a profit to get a return on their investment. As this funding becomes harder to get, companies need to show they can make money on their own through sales and subscriptions.”
GitHub, for its part, is trying to frame these changes positively. They emphasize that the “premium requests” are for additional advanced features, and that all paid plans still get unlimited use of their base AI model for core tasks like code completions and basic chat. So, they’re saying they’re adding more value, not just taking things away.
What Does This Mean for the Future of AI Tools?
This trend suggests that if you’re a business leader or even just someone who uses a lot of AI tools, you should probably prepare for similar changes across the board. As these AI services mature and move away from being heavily subsidized by investor money, companies will likely need to re-evaluate their AI strategies and, importantly, their budgets.
The era of “free lunch” for powerful, enterprise-grade AI tools seems to be winding down. It’s becoming more like a regular restaurant where you pay for what you order, especially if you want the gourmet dishes!
A Few Thoughts from Us…
John: From my perspective, this is a pretty natural evolution. When new technology comes out, there’s often a period of excitement and free access to get people on board. But as these AI tools become more powerful, more integrated into how we work, and frankly, more expensive to run, it’s logical that companies need to find ways to charge for them. It’s a sign that AI is becoming a serious, valuable part of the business world. It’s a bit like how software shifted from one-time purchase boxes to ongoing subscriptions – it helps fund continuous improvement and support.
Lila: As someone still learning about all this AI stuff, it makes sense that the really advanced, cutting-edge features would cost more. It’s a little bit of a bummer to think that the “free” access to some of these amazing tools might be shrinking, but I get it. If they cost a ton to create and operate, it’s only fair that users contribute, especially if businesses are making money using them. It just means we all need to be a bit more aware of what tools we’re using and how much value we’re getting for any potential cost.
This article is based on the following original source, summarized from the author’s perspective:
GitHub’s AI billing shift signals the end of free enterprise
tools era