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Company reportedLive since Mar 2023Added Oct 2026

Duolingo

Duolingo launches a GPT-4 paid tier and uses AI to build new courses

Duolingo launched Duolingo Max in March 2023, a paid tier with AI features powered by OpenAI's GPT-4. In 2025 it said generative AI let it add 148 courses in about a year, and its own shareholder letter showed the cost: gross margin fell as Max grew.

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Key figures

Copied exactly from the sources. Copy any figure with its citation.

188

Countries where Duolingo Max is available1

148

New courses announced as made with generative AI3

71.1%

Q1 2025 gross margin, down from 73.0% a year earlier2

What it took

CostNot disclosed
TeamNot disclosed
TimelineFirst 100 courses took about 12 years; nearly 150 new courses took about a year (CEO)3

The problem

Duolingo wanted a premium tier worth paying more for, and it needed to make new courses faster than human teams alone could. Its CEO said the first 100 courses took about 12 years to build.

What they built

Duolingo Max is a subscription tier above Super Duolingo. Its AI features are Video Call, where learners talk with a character named Lily, and Roleplay, where they practice scenarios such as ordering coffee in Paris. Roleplay gives feedback on accuracy and complexity. Separately, Duolingo used generative AI to produce course content.

How they did it

Max launched on March 14, 2023, powered by GPT-4. Curriculum experts write the Roleplay scenarios and opening messages and review AI-generated content for accuracy and tone. In 2025 the company announced 148 courses made with generative AI, mostly at beginner level, including Stories and DuoRadio content.

Results

The Q1 2025 shareholder letter calls Max one of the company's biggest opportunities and says higher-priced plans supported bookings growth above guidance. It also reports that gross margin was 71.1%, down from 73.0%, mainly from higher generative AI costs as Max expanded. The letter does not give Max subscriber counts or revenue.

Lessons for your project

  1. Keep humans on the educational core. Duolingo's curriculum experts write the Roleplay scenarios and review AI content for accuracy and tone.

  2. Budget for inference cost. Duolingo said higher generative AI costs from growing Max usage pulled gross margin down, and it then optimized model costs.

  3. Let users flag bad AI output. Learners can report an inaccurate message, and Duolingo says it uses the reports to improve the model.

Caveats

  • The 148-course figure is Duolingo's claim as reported by a local TV outlet. The shareholder letter says nearly 150 new courses using AI-generated content.
  • The AI-first shift drew user backlash over reducing contractors, according to the same news report.
  • The model used for course generation is not disclosed in these sources.

Sources

  1. Introducing Duolingo Max, a learning experience powered by GPT-4

    Duolingo Blog · 2023-03-14 · Company blog · blog.duolingo.com

  2. Duolingo Q1 2025 Shareholder Letter

    Duolingo (SEC Form 8-K exhibit) · 2025-05-01 · Filing · sec.gov

  3. Duolingo announces 148 courses created with generative AI

    FOX 5 DC · 2025-05-01 · News · fox5dc.com

Summarized in our own words from the sources above. Spotted an error? See corrections.

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