OpenAI says more than 20,000 veterans and servicemembers claimed a free year of ChatGPT Plus

OpenAI says more than 20,000 veterans and transitioning U.S. servicemembers have claimed a free year of ChatGPT Plus since the program began a year ago. That figure, disclosed in the company’s program update, is OpenAI’s own redemption count. The company did not publish an audit, methodology or data showing how many recipients activated or regularly used the service.

The offer provides eligible people with a personal ChatGPT Plus subscription at no cost for one year. Under the current terms, it is available to verified U.S. military veterans and retirees who left active duty within the previous 12 months and active servicemembers who expect to transition within the next 12 months.

To redeem the offer, applicants must verify their military status through ID.me, sign in to an eligible personal ChatGPT account and select the final claim action after approval. Enterprise workspace accounts are excluded. OpenAI says people who pay for Plus through a mobile app store must let that subscription end before trying to redeem the offer on the web.

Each eligible subscriber can claim one offer. It cannot be transferred or combined with another promotion, and it runs for one year from the claim date. The subscription then renews at the standard monthly ChatGPT Plus rate unless canceled. OpenAI’s terms warn that canceling during the promotion may end Plus access immediately and that the promotional price cannot be restored.

OpenAI also says its Academy and community partners have held more than a dozen training sessions for nearly 1,000 members of the military community. The company described participants using ChatGPT to organize job searches, translate military experience for civilian resumes, practice interviews and evaluate job offers. Those attendance figures and examples come from OpenAI and do not establish employment outcomes or a causal effect from the program.

The company launched the U.S. offer on November 10, 2025, for people within 12 months of retirement or separation. That announcement named SheerID as the verification partner; OpenAI’s current update and terms name ID.me.