OpenAI rolls out flexible rate-limit banking for its Codex coding agent, signaling price competition with Anthropic as AI costs pressure companies.

What happened: OpenAI is letting users on Go, Plus, Pro, and Business plans bank their rate-limit resets (which cap how often the service can be used) and use them whenever they want instead of auto-resetting. Plus and Pro users can also invite up to three friends to try Codex over the next two weeks; both sides earn an extra banked reset once the invitee sends their first message.

Why it matters: OpenAI says the change responds to user demand for flexibility, but it also appears aimed at Anthropic. OpenAI is reportedly considering cuts to token pricing to win over Anthropic customers, after AI costs surged recently. CEO Sam Altman has stated that AI costs have become a "huge issue" for companies.

What to watch: The feature is available now to existing users on the four plan tiers mentioned, with the invite mechanism running through a two-week window.