OpenAI's New Budget-Friendly AI Option: Flex Processing

OpenAI has rolled out a new feature called Flex processing. This is a cost-effective way to use their AI models. It is slower and might not always be available. But it is cheaper. It is perfect for tasks that do not need to be done right away. These tasks include testing models, adding data, and jobs that can wait. Flex processing is now in beta for two of OpenAI's models: o3 and o4-mini. These models are designed for reasoning tasks. With Flex, the cost of using these models is cut in half. For o3, the price drops to 5 dollars per million input tokens and 20 dollars per million output tokens. For o4-mini, it goes down to 0. 55 dollars per million input tokens and 2. 20 dollars per million output tokens. This makes it a tempting option for those looking to save money. The launch of Flex processing comes at a time when AI costs are rising. Other companies, like Google, are also offering cheaper, more efficient models. Google recently released Gemini 2. 5 Flash. This model performs well at a lower cost. This shows that the AI market is becoming more competitive. OpenAI has also introduced a new ID verification process. Developers in the first three usage tiers will need to complete this process to access the o3 model. This verification is also required for reasoning summaries and streaming API support. OpenAI says this is to prevent misuse of their services. The AI industry is changing. Companies are looking for ways to make AI more affordable. Flex processing is OpenAI's answer to this challenge. It offers a cheaper way to use their models, but with some trade-offs. It will be interesting to see how this affects the AI market and how users respond to this new option.