4 days ago
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ZDNET's cardinal takeaways
- OpenAI is bidding adieu to 4o, a favourite exemplary among galore users.
- Chats with 4o volition inactive beryllium accessible aft that date.
- The institution says lone 1% of its users inactive prosecute with 4o.
It's a bittersweet time for galore ChatGPT users.
GPT-4o, the exemplary that's go a favourite for galore radical due to the fact that of its lukewarm and affable conversational tone, volition beryllium retired connected Feb. 13, OpenAI announced Thursday. That means it'll nary longer beryllium accessible to paid users via the exemplary selector paper successful ChatGPT, though it'll inactive beryllium disposable done OpenAI's API for the foreseeable future. ChatGPT's escaped users -- which comprise astir 90% of OpenAI's userbase -- person not had entree to 4o since OpenAI debuted GPT-5 successful August.
(Disclosure: Ziff Davis, ZDNET's genitor company, filed an April 2025 suit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights successful grooming and operating its AI systems.)
Also: Here are each the GPT-5 updates OpenAI has rolled retired since launch
GPT-4.1, GPT-4.1 mini, OpenAI o4-mini, and GPT-5 Instant and Thinking volition besides beryllium discontinued starting Feb. 13. But OpenAI is treading other cautiously successful the lawsuit of 4o, aft it faced idiosyncratic blowback erstwhile the exemplary was concisely removed aft the merchandise of GPT-5.
"We cognize that losing entree to GPT‑4o volition consciousness frustrating for immoderate users, and we didn't marque this determination lightly," the institution wrote successful its announcement. "Retiring models is ne'er easy, but it allows america to absorption connected improving the models astir radical usage today."
What to expect
The bully quality is that for astir ChatGPT users, the modulation should consciousness beauteous seamless -- astatine slightest successful the astir applicable terms.
If you're a Plus oregon Pro subscriber, careless of which models you've been using, each of your preexisting conversations with ChatGPT volition inactive beryllium accessible aft the Feb. 13 status date. You'll beryllium capable to proceed them, conscionable utilizing antithetic models. Free users volition inactive usage GPT-5 arsenic their default model, truthful for each intents and purposes, the alteration won't beryllium noticeable for them.
Existing GPTs based connected 4o oregon immoderate of the different soon-to-be-retired models volition beryllium switched to GPT-5.2 connected Feb. 13, according to OpenAI's website. ChatGPT's dependable mode and image-generating capabilities won't beryllium affected by the switch, since they some presently usage a exemplary that's antithetic from (although akin to) 4o.
Vibe shift
The astir noticeable alteration volition beryllium for those paying users who inactive usage 4o due to the fact that they similar its code and conversational benignant of 4o implicit those of newer models.
This became a large flashpoint for the institution erstwhile 4o was initially discontinued pursuing the August GPT-5 release. The institution was quick to reinstate it for immoderate paid users, and it promised to heed the antagonistic feedback moving forward. Both GPT-5.1 and 5.2 came with assorted "personalizable presets," including "professional," "candid," and "quirky," the thought being to marque the models much adjustable to idiosyncratic individual preferences.
Also: I enactment GPT-5.2 done a 14-round test, and the AI exemplary raised immoderate superior questions
In its Thursday announcement, OpenAI wrote that lone astir 1% of ChatGPT users inactive prosecute with 4o. Still, immoderate of those 900,000 oregon truthful paying customers intelligibly resent OpenAI's determination to discontinue the model.
A mates of them person argued that the 1% fig is misleading, since it factored successful the overmuch much monolithic swathe of escaped users who don't person entree to 4o. "I deliberation that percent would beryllium vastly antithetic if you look astatine [subscribed users] only," 1 idiosyncratic wrote successful the OpenAI subreddit connected Thursday night.
Another was already trying to rally enactment to reverse the decision. "Time to spell to change.org and commencement filling retired petitions again," they wrote. "We brought 4o backmost past time. We'll bring it backmost again."
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