The news: OpenAI’s GPT-5 could be the start of ChatGPT becoming a transaction-driven super app that monetizes user intent, not attention.

GPT-5’s router—which analyzes queries and decides how hard to “think” based on complexity—lets OpenAI invest more resources during high-intent moments like “compare hiking boots under $200” or “best smart TVs for co-op gaming.”

Prioritizing queries with high commercial value could help OpenAI monetize users not through ads but via affiliate or take-rate revenues, per SemiAnalysis. Partnerships with Shopify and others suggest that monetization stack is already on the way.

Super app chances: GPT-5 could help ChatGPT become a killer app and move past chatbot status into commerce platform territory.

• By spotting when a user is researching or mid-discovery, it could route more compute power, offer smarter suggestions, and even complete transactions via agentic tools like Operator.
• This gives OpenAI a shot at disrupting search engines like Google Search and marketplaces like Amazon, keeping users locked in throughout the checkout process.

Yes, but: The monetization model only works if users actually want to engage with GPT-5 and see it as worth their time. It may not be—yet.

Early users said the model felt sluggish and less intuitive than GPT-4o, calling it “kinda mid,” while problems with the autoswitcher led to inconsistent performance. Without a noticeable improvement, users may hesitate to upgrade from the free tier to avoid usage limits, especially with the return of GPT-4o.

An inflection point: OpenAI and other AI companies need to find ways to make premium access sustainable as AI’s popularity—and usage costs—soar.

Anthropic may abandon flat pricing due to some users consuming tens of thousands of dollars of compute power on a $200/month plan, per The Information.

GPT-5’s smart routing could help scale usage and optimize compute so that casual and power users alike can get what they need without crushing OpenAI’s bill.

Our take: A full-service ChatGPT that’s intuitive enough to guide full shopping journeys inside a chatbot while keeping backend costs minimal could rewrite the AI platform’s business model. Brands should be working to optimize for AI-native commerce and integrate with agentic tools.

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