I have a rough idea of their efficiency as I’ve used them, not in professional settings but I wager it would not be too different.

My point is more that it feels like the rugs are finally starting to get pulled. This tech is functionnal as you said, it works to a point and that point is enough for a sizeable amount of people. But I doubt that the price most people are paying now is enough to cover the cost of answering their queries. Now that some people, especially younger devs or people who never worked without those tools are dependant on it, they can go ahead and charge more.

But it’s not too late, so I’m hoping it will make some people more aware of that kind of scheme and that they will stop feeding the AI hype in general.