[DigitalToday reporter Jinju Hong (홍진주)] OpenAI is testing a feature for some ChatGPT Plus users that lets them immediately reset their usage limit by paying. Under the system, users can instantly restore their weekly usage by paying an extra fee on top of the $20 monthly subscription. It is seen as an attempt to combine a subscription plan with an additional-usage purchase model.

Business Insider reported on Tuesday that some $20-a-month ChatGPT Plus users saw a button to "reset for $8" after using up their weekly limit. The feature became known through user reports before any official announcement by OpenAI.

OpenAI said the feature is an early experiment targeting a limited number of users. A company spokesperson said it is reviewing ways for users who reach usage limits to buy additional usage. The spokesperson described it as an experiment to improve product accessibility and features.

The feature appears to be an extension of a Codex reset system introduced earlier. OpenAI introduced a "saved reset" in June for some Plus and Pro users. Users could receive free resets or secure additional resets through referrals and other means.

When users run Codex's "full reset," depleted weekly usage is restored immediately and the usual waiting time until the limit refreshes disappears. Without using a reset, users can also wait as before. If users perform a manual reset, the next weekly limit refresh also shifts to about 7 days after the reset point.

The $8 price could be a relatively inexpensive additional-usage option compared with professional plans. Business Insider said weekly costs for professional users could rise to $25 to $50.

Competition with Anthropic also underlies OpenAI's recent moves to expand free usage while offering paid resets. The two companies are increasing free usage and promotions in succession to secure users, especially in the AI coding tool market.

A public war of nerves has also recently played out between development leads at the two companies. OpenAI Codex head Thibault Sautiau and Anthropic Claude Code head Boris Cherny argued after one user's account tag mistake, and Sautiau later referenced GPT-5.6 Sol and said he had no intention of leaving the company. He then said it would reset usage limits for paid ChatGPT Work and Codex users.

Anthropic has also responded by taking countermeasures, including temporarily increasing Claude Code's weekly usage limit by 50 percent.

The experiment ultimately suggests that ChatGPT's pricing could expand from a simple monthly flat-rate subscription to a model where users buy additional usage when needed. For users who use AI coding tools heavily, it creates an option to pay a small amount and resume work immediately rather than waiting for limits to refresh. That is drawing attention to how far OpenAI will expand the feature.