Summary created by Smart Answers AI
In summary:
- PCWorld reports that OpenAI and Anthropic have temporarily relaxed usage limits for their latest AI models, including GPT-5.6 Sol and Claude’s Fable 5.
- ChatGPT Plus, Business, and Pro subscribers can now access GPT-5.6 Sol without the previous five-hour usage window restrictions.
- This increased access appears driven by competition between the AI companies, giving users more opportunities to experience advanced reasoning capabilities.
If you haven’t kicked the tires yet on the latest and greatest ChatGPT and Claude models, this is your lucky week.
OpenAI is (fittingly) opening the flood gates to GPT-5.6 Sol, its just-released and most powerful model, announcing Sunday that it’s “temporarily” lifting the five-hour usage window for ChatGPT Plus, Business, and Pro subscribers.
At the same time, Anthropic is – again – extending the trial period for Fable 5, its own new top-of-the-line, giving Claude subscribers another week of in-plan access. Anthropic is also doubling Claude Cowork usage limits until August 5 and boosting weekly Claude Code limits by 50 percent through July 19.
The relaxed usage limits are only temporary, of course, and the cynical way of looking at them is that Anthropic and OpenAI are just whetting our appetites before tighter usage restrictions go back into effect.
Then again, it could simply be the result of competition between the rival AI giants, with OpenAI trying to scoop up Anthropic subscribers annoyed by the previously announced and tighter restrictions on Fable 5, and Anthropic responding in kind.
Whatever the reason, now is a good time for ChatGPT and Claude subscribers to reap the benefits of the relaxed usage limits, particularly when it comes to GPT-5.6 and Fable.
Aside from (temporarily) lifting its usual five-hour usage window, OpenAI says it’s optimizing the GPT-5.6 Sol’s reasoning and “multi-agent” use to keeping it from burning so many AI tokens.
For now, it appears GPT-5.6 Sol will remain on ChatGPT subscription plans, with no indication from OpenAI that subscribers will need to buy usage credits for the new model (aside from those who’ve burned through their regular usage limits).
Anthropic has warned it will eventually pull Fable 5 from its subscription plans, although an Anthropic exec has (now) repeated an earlier promise that “we aim to restore Fable as a standard part of our subscriptions as soon as capacity allows.”