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In a move to intensify its rivalry with artificial intelligence firms such as Google, OpenAI has introduced Flex processing. This new API option offers reduced pricing for AI model consumption in exchange for longer response times and potential temporary resource unavailability, aiming to provide more cost-effective solutions for certain types of tasks.
OpenAI Unveils Flex Processing for Cost-Effective AI Model Access
OpenAI has announced the beta launch of Flex processing, a novel API option designed to lower expenses associated with its cutting-edge AI models. This service is specifically tailored for less time-sensitive and “non-production” workloads, including model assessments, data augmentation, and asynchronous tasks, according to the company.
Significant Price Reduction with Flex Processing
Flex processing achieves a substantial 50% decrease in API costs. For the o3 model, utilizing Flex processing is priced at $5 per million input tokens (approximately 750,000 words) and $20 per million output tokens. This is a considerable reduction compared to the standard pricing of $10 per million input tokens and $40 per million output tokens. Similarly, for the o4-mini model, Flex pricing lowers the cost to $0.55 per million input tokens and $2.20 per million output tokens, down from the regular rates of $1.10 and $4.40 respectively.
Competitive Pricing in the AI Landscape
The introduction of Flex processing arrives as the expense of advanced AI technologies continues to rise, prompting competitors to release more economical and efficient models. Notably, Google recently launched Gemini 2.5 Flash, a reasoning model that rivals or surpasses DeepSeek’s R1 in performance while offering a lower cost per input token. This market dynamic underscores the growing emphasis on accessible and budget-friendly AI solutions.
ID Verification Requirement for Enhanced Security
In an announcement email to its user base, OpenAI also stated that developers in usage tiers 1-3 will be required to complete a newly implemented ID verification process to gain access to the o3 model. These tiers are based on the expenditure on OpenAI services. Moreover, access to o3’s reasoning summaries and streaming API support will also be contingent upon completing this verification step.
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OpenAI has previously indicated that the ID verification protocol is a measure intended to deter policy violations by malicious actors, reinforcing its commitment to responsible and secure AI usage.