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OpenAI and Google introduce daily caps on free AI usage as demand overwhelms servers
When Google launched the model, free users were offered up to five prompts a day and up to three image generations via Nano Banana Pro.
When Google launched the model, free users were offered up to five prompts a day and up to three image generations via Nano Banana Pro.
OpenAI and Google have moved to sharply reduce free usage limits on some of their most popular AI-generation tools, responding to a surge in demand over the holiday weekend that strained server capacity. The changes affect OpenAI’s video-generation model Sora as well as Google’s recently launched Nano Banana Pro image system and its broader Gemini 3 Pro suite.
OpenAI’s head of Sora, Bill Peebles, said on X the company had imposed a cap of six generations per day for free users, informing that the decision was necessary to prevent infrastructure overload and ensure access for as many people as possible. Paid subscribers using ChatGPT Plus and ChatGPT Pro remain unaffected, and additional generations can still be purchased by those requiring higher volumes. The move means users hoping to experiment with AI-driven video creation over the weekend will have to ration their daily quota more carefully.
we’re setting usage limits for free users to 6 gens/day. chatgpt plus and pro users have unchanged limits, and everybody can purchase additional gens as needed. our gpus are melting, and we want to let as many people access sora as possible!
— Bill Peebles (@billpeeb) November 28, 2025
Google has implemented similar cutbacks. Its Nano Banana Pro image model, introduced earlier this month, now limits free users to two images a day, a reduction from the earlier allowance of three. The adjustment was first observed by 9to5Google, with the company cautioning that limits may fluctuate without prior notice depending on server load and overall traffic.
The tightening extends to the broader Gemini 3 Pro ecosystem. When Google launched the model, free users were offered up to five prompts a day and up to three image generations via Nano Banana Pro, mirroring the previous Gemini 2.5 Pro structure. Over recent days, the company has revised the framework, placing free users under “Basic access,” a category where daily limits may shift frequently when using Thinking with 3 Pro. Although the language remains vague, the overall direction suggests progressively constrained free access as demand intensifies.
Reinforcing this trend, Google has now formalised a hard ceiling of two images per day on the Nano Banana Pro image tool, signalling a broader industry recalibration as server pressures mount.
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