Original video in Chinese.
Key Takeaway
- My current core subscription trio: ChatGPT $100 (mainly for Codex, used for development, newtype OS updates, website SEO/GEO, manuscript review, etc.); Perplexity Max $200 (essential for information gathering, with 10,000 Credits per month for Computer, whose quality far exceeds ordinary search); GitHub Copilot Pro+ (powers newtype OS multi-Agent + Skills content creation).
- Fully focused on Agentic AI: these three subscriptions together serve truly capable Agentic AI (Codex + Perplexity Computer + newtype OS). I think this is a watershed moment—chatbots have already hit their ceiling and can no longer meet high-intensity production needs.
- I’ve canceled Gemini and Super Grok: Google’s ecosystem has been underwhelming lately, and Gemini has no presence; Grok’s model is decent, but it’s limited by the ceiling of chatbots, so I’ve downgraded my X subscription. I only keep tools that can drive real productivity systems.
Let me talk about which AI products I’m currently subscribing to, and why.
I made two videos on this topic before. Some time has passed since then, so I’m giving everyone an update. It includes two parts: what I’m still subscribing to and using heavily, and what I’ve canceled.
Let me start with the AI products I’m still subscribing to. There are three.
First, ChatGPT.
To be honest, I don’t actually like ChatGPT. I’ve even diss’d it quite a bit before. But I do like Codex. The two share the same subscription. So I’m subscribing to ChatGPT purely for Codex.
At the Agentic AI stage, Codex and Claude Code are the two most powerful products, and also among the few that are genuinely usable. Since Anthropic is dead set on not letting Chinese users use their products, Codex has become my only option.
I now do my development with Codex. Every time newtype OS is updated, it’s done with Codex CLI. My website building, SEO, and GEO are all done with Codex. My manuscript review is done with Codex. I even use Codex to add tags to posts in the Knowledge Planet.
I had always been subscribing to the $20 Plus tier before. But recently I upgraded to $100. Because the newly released GPT-5.6 consumes way too much. In just a few uses, it burns through the quota. I had also used up all the Reset opportunities I had accumulated before.
But GPT-5.6 is really good. As I said in the Knowledge Planet:
Compared with GPT-5.5, GPT-5.6 doesn’t improve by some crazy amount, but it does make up for the parts where GPT-5.5 felt just a little off. So in actual use, it gives you this feeling of finally being able to trust it.
So as long as OpenAI doesn’t pull any nonsense, I should keep paying for this subscription. I also strongly recommend everyone try Codex. I’ve been passionately recommending it in the Knowledge Planet for a long time already.
Second, Perplexity.
A lot of people say Perplexity is no good anymore. But I use it every day, and I subscribe to the $200 Max plan.
Why?
Let me put it this way: when it comes to information gathering, no company’s product can keep up with Perplexity. And my work depends extremely heavily on information gathering—I need it for content creation, and I need it for investing—so this subscription is a must.
So what do you get with the $200 Max tier?
For ordinary searches, you can use the latest, top-tier models, like GPT-5.6. Seriously, there’s still a very noticeable difference in search quality between a good model and an average one.
If you use Perplexity Computer, you get 10,000 Credits per month. When there’s a big job, I also top up separately. Because Computer’s search and research are really on a completely different level from ordinary search.
For example, before I needed to build an investing Agent. That involved both technology and market strategy. So I first used Computer to gather materials, then wrote all the information and recommendations into a development document. Finally, I handed that document over to Codex for evaluation and development.
$200 a month looks a bit expensive. But whether something is expensive or cheap is really a relative concept. If what you’re doing is important and valuable, then what does this little bit of money even count for?
The more people think Perplexity is useless and too expensive to subscribe to, the more valuable it becomes. Because information is the first step in creating distance.
Third, GitHub Copilot Pro+.
All of my content creation is currently assisted by newtype OS. It’s a product I built, including multi-Agent orchestration and a bunch of dedicated Skills, specifically customized for content scenarios.
So how does newtype OS call models?
Its core is OpenCode. OpenCode itself supports many model providers. Among them, Copilot Pro+ is the most suitable, because it can call top models from various companies, such as GPT-5.5, which I had been using all along, and so on.
Only models at this level know which Skills to call, which materials to look for, and how to assign tasks to sub-agents.
So the Copilot subscription corresponds to my content creation needs; the Perplexity subscription corresponds to my information gathering needs; and the ChatGPT subscription corresponds to my development and day-to-day needs.
These three subscriptions have one thing in common: they’re all used to drive Agentic AI. I think Agentic AI is a watershed moment. The chatbots from before—well, chatbots—could only answer questions and only discuss things. But Agentic AI is AI that can actually get things done.
So recently I canceled two AI products.
One is Gemini. Honestly, Google has really been underperforming lately. Gemini has no presence at all. I canceled it without hesitation.
The other is Super Grok. I had been using it through the X subscription. From a model perspective, Grok is stronger than Gemini. But as I said in the Knowledge Planet, chatbots have a very low ceiling and can no longer meet my needs. So I downgraded my X subscription and stopped using Super Grok.
Codex, Perplexity, newtype OS—these are the AI products I use heavily every day. My subscriptions are all for them. Feel free to leave a comment about which AI products you’re currently subscribing to.
OK, that’s it for this episode. If you want to understand AI, want to reclaim individual sovereignty, and want to find like-minded people, come join our newtype community. See you next time!