Demand is overwhelming! Due to urgent computing power constraints, Zhipu AI imposes "purchase limits": Only 20% of GLM Programming Plan is sold daily, with priority given to existing users.

Due to a surge in users following the release of the latest large language model GLM-4.7, Zhipu AI is facing a severe computing power bottleneck and has had to urgently implement traffic limiting measures. The company announced that starting January 23, it will drastically reduce the daily new subscription quota for its programming assistant service "GLM Coding Plan" to 20% of its original level, and promises to prioritize the access experience of existing users.

The surge in users has led to frequent concurrent throttling error messages and a significant decline in response speed during recent weekday afternoon peak periods. Zhipu AI explained that this is a temporary resource shortage caused by rapid growth. The AI company, which just completed a high-profile IPO in Hong Kong this month, is directly competing with international leaders such as OpenAI and Anthropic.

Implementing traffic limits in response to a sudden peak in traffic is not uncommon in the fast-growing AI industry. Last year, DeepSeek also limited access to its API services to manage server capacity.

Computing Power Shortages Force Sales Restriction Measures

In an official statement via WeChat, Zhipu AI confirmed that the sales restriction measures for its GLM programming assistant will officially begin at 10:00 am on January 23, after which the daily new quota will be released at the same time each day. The company stated that the automatic renewal of existing subscription users will not be affected by this adjustment, but did not explain when the sales restriction measures will end.

GLM Coding Plan is an AI programming assistant service positioned against Claude. Zhipu AI explained that due to a recent surge in user numbers, service quality fluctuations such as response delays and concurrent errors have already appeared during peak times. The implementation of sales restrictions aims to prioritize computing resources and user experience for existing users.

Industry Faces Widespread Capacity Challenges

The adoption of traffic-limiting measures in response to surge-driven capacity pressures has become common during the initial high-growth stage of the AI industry. DeepSeek, which became a global phenomenon last year, also restricted open access to its API services due to server resource shortages.

Behind such "sales restriction" actions, the explosive growth in demand for AI technology applications and the phase mismatch with computing infrastructure construction speed are highlighted. As large language models and programming assistants rapidly proliferate, stable and scalable computing power supply has become the key constraint to large-scale enterprise expansion.

For the market, the computing power bottleneck both confirms strong end-user demand and reveals the real challenges AI companies face in shifting from technological breakthroughs to stable service operations. Effectively balancing rapid user growth with sustainable control of service quality and costs has become a core strategic issue that industry-leading companies need to address.

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