They are eating the cost because it provides them with the largest dataset of human feedback in existence. Is that worth 700k a day? I don't know, but they seem to think so, otherwise they'd stop doing it.
Making AI tools free, for 12-18 months, would be enough time to get individuals reliant on it for their workflows and enough time to discover the full range of their potential. At which point then the vendor can withdraw the bridge and monetise access.
I would see this as a big VC bet. Will it pay off? Maybe!
Obvs that's still a recipe to lose a lot of money on talent, training and other things. But they have a lot of room to increase prices.
Also the idea that a small drop in usage over the summer indicates a problem is nonsensical. Most new products have a big launch spike and then usage collapses! See how Threads usage spiked at launch and then dropped like a stone. If ChatGPT has only lost a bit of traffic over the summer (which is slow time anyway) then they're doing great.