[deaux]

I don't get this comparison. The non-Dropbox version was magnitudes less convenient to 99.99% of the population. A non-OpenAI chat interface is, at best, a fracfion less convenient.

A good number of people used to pay for email. Now a tiny fraction does. It all hangs on wbether OpenAI can figure out how to get ad revenue without people moving to a free competitor without them - and there will be plenty of those.

[stalfosknight]

Does it have to be ads? :/

[deaux]

Of course, as that's where the money and power is, the only things SamA is in it for.

There will be equivalent models that are free. Likely, there will even be free ones without ads.

Free+ads can beat free without ads on pure incumbency, marketing and convenience. Most people don't use an adblocker, even though it's trivially easy to install.

Paid, however, can't beat free+ads. Too much friction.