I’ve seen discussions questioning whether free AI tools will remain sustainable or if they’re just loss-leading strategies to capture users before locking features behind paywalls. It’s a valid concern, especially given how many startups have pulled that bait-and-switch over the past two years. However, the economics of AI inference have changed dramatically, with costs dropping as hardware improves and open-source models become more efficient. To get a clearer picture of long-term viability,
see moreabout how infrastructure choices affect the ability to maintain free access without degrading quality over time.