OpenAI Plans Sora Video Generation Integration into ChatGPT

OpenAI is reportedly planning to integrate its advanced Sora video generation model directly into ChatGPT. This strategic move comes as the standalone Sora app, despite an initial successful launch in September 2025, has seen a decline in user engagement due to limitations on video creation. By embedding Sora within ChatGPT, OpenAI aims to revitalize interest in its video generation capabilities and significantly boost ChatGPT's weekly active user base, potentially pushing it beyond the 900 million reported in February towards a billion or more.

While the standalone Sora app will continue to exist, reports indicate its presence has waned, falling out of the top 100 free apps, with only a small fraction of users sharing their creations publicly.

The integration into ChatGPT presents significant financial implications for OpenAI. Generating video is inherently costly, with the company currently charging API customers $0.10 per second for 720p video. The prospect of a much larger audience accessing Sora through ChatGPT could lead to a rapid escalation in operational expenses. It is reported that OpenAI projects spending over $225 billion on inference—the cost of running its AI models—between 2026 and 2030.

To mitigate these costs, OpenAI is likely to implement monetization strategies similar to those used in the standalone Sora app, where users pay for credits to generate new videos. The company might also explore premium content options, such as enabling the creation of videos featuring popular characters like those from Disney, to encourage users to purchase additional generations after exhausting any free allowances. Regardless of the success of these monetization efforts, the integration of Sora into ChatGPT is expected to substantially increase OpenAI's overall expenditure.