Hi Reader,

As always I appreciate you being here! Here's what you'll find in today's email:

• The Great Comeback of OpenAI
• The $100 AI Question
• New & Trending Content

You read. I listen. Let me know what you think by replying to this email.

The Great Comeback of OpenAI

Several months ago I published content about switching from ChatGPT to Claude. That aged fast lol.

Claude models were running 95% of my work. Then OpenAI shipped GPT-6 Astra and a new image model in the same week and I moved real jobs back.

​See my Recent Breakdown of ChatGPT vs Claude​

Here are my recent thoughts on this:

• GPT-6 Astra is the real deal. Landed on the Pro plan September 3rd. It's the first OpenAI model I'll hand the work I used to save for Fable.
• GPT-5.6 Sol beats Opus 5 for marketing and content work. Not close. Opus 5 has been a joke lately, and Sol is the model OpenAI gives you unmetered. Also Claude Sonnet and Haiku models are completely worthless.
• GPT Image 2.5 is the best image model in the world right now. Change one thing in an image and it leaves everything else alone. Nobody else has that nailed.
• OpenAI is shipping for the average consumer. It seems that Anthropic couldn't care less about the average consumer anymore as their focus has shifted to government contracts.
• ChatGPT Desktop runs on my Mac Mini and I drive it from my phone. That's the entire OpenClaw and Hermes pitch with zero babysitting.

The $100 AI Question

Both companies sell a $100/month plan. They mean very different things by it.

ChatGPT Pro at $100: 5x Plus usage, Astra included.
Claude Max at $100: 5x Pro usage, and Fable is capped at 50% of it.

Then on September 14th Anthropic's temporary 50% boost expires and a "permanent 25% increase" replaces it. Do the math. That's about 17% less than you've had since May, announced as a raise.

A $100 ChatGPT Pro plan feels like a steal. A $100 Claude Max plan feels like a scam.

I pay $100 for Claude Max as Fable is still the best model I run and Claude Code is still where my work lives. I also hit my weekly Fable limits in under 24 hours...

The important takeaway here is that none of this cost me a rebuild. My Skills are just markdown files living in folders, so moving a job from Claude models to GPT models took an afternoon.

Models come and go, your systems shouldn't.

Are you still all-in on Claude, or have you moved work back to GPT models too? Hit reply and tell me. I read every response.

Until Next Time 🫡
Ryan

P.S. That afternoon switch only worked because my systems live in files I own, not inside one company's ecosystem. That's what my Claude Skills Stack is: 40+ skills I use daily that run in Claude Code, Codex, or any AI system. I keep adding new ones as I build them for my own work, and every update is free.

New & Trending Content

Check out the latest & greatest on my website:

• ​Is Grok Bot Actually Worth It?​
• ​My New AI Concierge Service​
• ​AI Consultant for Small Businesses: Questions to Ask​