First time ever hitting a limit on the new $100 Pro plan for the Pro model

OpenAI's new $100-per-month ChatGPT Pro subscription, which promises 'unlimited access' to its flagship GPT-5 model, is facing its first public controversy as users report hitting unexpected usage limits. A viral post from a subscriber, who claims to be using the service extensively but not abusively, highlighted receiving a restriction notice. This has sparked a significant debate within the tech community about the true meaning of 'unlimited' in the context of enterprise-grade AI services and the transparency of usage policies.

In response, OpenAI's support documentation clarifies that the 'unlimited' guarantee is conditional. Access must adhere to Terms of Use that specifically prohibit abusive usage like automated data extraction, account credential sharing, or reselling access to power third-party services. The company states it employs guardrails to prevent misuse and that temporary restrictions may occur. Affected users are instructed to contact support if they believe a mistake was made, with promises of restored access if no policy violation is found. This incident underscores the growing pains of scaling premium AI offerings and the challenge of defining 'fair use' for a tool as powerful and resource-intensive as GPT-5.