The move, which appears to be driven by the overwhelming strain on the AI giant’s GPU resources, limits free access to OpenAI’s Sora 2 and Google’s Gemini 3 Pro.
Both tech giants are reportedly silently limiting the number of prompts, videos, and images that free users can generate, citing skyrocketing demand and GPU costs.
Limited free access to Sora 2 and Gemini 3 Pro
To say the least, Sora 2 and Gemini 3 Pro are currently less accessible to casual users than they were just a week ago.
How many free Sora 2 prompts are left?
For free users, OpenAI’s AI video generation tool Sora 2 is limited to six free prompts (generations) per day. To the same extent, search giant Google has ended its previously guaranteed five prompts per day on Gemini 3 Pro and numbered image generations. Free AI image generation using the Nano Banana Pro tool is currently limited to two.
Bill Peebles, head of Sora at OpenAI, tweeted: “As GPUs start to melt, we want to make Sora accessible to as many people as possible.” Peebles’ statement shows that video generation requires a huge amount of computation.
Video and image processing requires much more power than text generation, so limiting the number of videos that free users can enjoy minimizes the load on OpenAI servers.
Limits for ChatGPT Plus and Pro users remain unchanged
Fortunately for ChatGPT Plus and Pro users, the limit remains unchanged and “everyone can purchase additional generations if needed,” Peebles said. However, the option to pay for video generation may not be appealing to those accustomed to free access.
New daily prompt limit for Gemini 3 Pro
Gemini 3 Pro debuted last week and now offers free users up to five prompts per day and three images per day via Nano Banana Pro. However, Google’s updated support documentation states that free users will no longer have a fixed daily prompt limit, and will instead have “basic access – daily limits may change frequently.”
Nano Banana Pro daily image generation limit
Nano Banana Pro’s free image generation limit is now limited to 2 images per day.
The good news for Google AI plan users is that there are no changes. You will continue to receive up to 100 prompts per day for Google AI Pro and 500 prompts per day for Google AI Ultra.
Thanksgiving holiday week puts stress on AI servers
The simultaneous tightening by both OpenAI and Google reflects the tremendous strain placed on GPU resources as users flock to newly released generative AI models.
Paid subscribers will still receive priority access, but the days of casual users receiving generous free access to top-of-the-line models may be over.
