Altman: OpenAI nearly dropped token-based pricing

OpenAI considered replacing token-based billing with per-prompt pricing for its next model but backed off after negative customer feedback, CEO Sam Altman said on the Cheeky Pint podcast. Developers preferred paying more while keeping transparent token-based costs, he said.

• Altman called the near-abandonment of tokens a "bad call"
• Customers said they need to know what they are paying for
• Developers would rather pay more than lose token transparency
• Altman called tokens "a kind of fake unit" for measuring AI usage