Latest news with #LegacyModels
Digital Trends
3 days ago
- Digital Trends
GPT-4o is back on ChatGPT; OpenAI relents following huge backlash
OpenAI, the makers of ChatGPT, have performed something of an about-face after fans were upset that it deleted the older models to only allow users to use the new GPT-5 model. What happened? The launch of the new GPT model caused much excitement when a livestream was announced on August 6. On August 6, OpenAI's CEO Sam Altman announced a new model to power ChatGPT – GPT-5 The company then deleted access to older models, forcing everyone to use the latest version However, OpenAI has now relented and is allowing ChatGPT Plus users (those paying $20/month) to use legacy models – although only 4o is available. Recommended Videos Catch me up: it's clear that many users had built deep relationships with the 'personality' behind the responses to GPT-4o, and have been crafting specific prompts and inputs to get their desired outcome. ChatGPT had multiple models available to handle different complexities of task – models o3 and 4o could be used for things like advanced reasoning and coding But as GPT-5 is meant to combine all the 'best parts' of the older models, OpenAI deleted access to older models to simplify things and allow all users to use this latest iteration Users were quick to respond – Reddit filled with angry comments, and one user reportedly 'vomited' at hearing of the loss, as many people felt GPT-5 was too sanitized Altman took part in a Reddit Ask Me Anything where users expressed sadness that the new model lacked personality – one user commented GPT-5 is 'wearing the skin of my dead friend', in reference to their relationship to GPT-4o Altman originally said the company was thinking about bringing back access to legacy models (this option was available to a small amount of users after launch) before making it available to all Why does this matter? OpenAI lost a number of subscribers who were upset at the changes made with GPT-5. While this number is likely to be small, and OpenAI has clearly seen an uplift in users since the launch, appeasing existing subscribers seems to be high on the agenda for the brand. Its decision to launch a Reddit AMA and make changes in direct response to the ire. The other side Many people have praised GPT-5 for its enhanced 'practical' nature, highlighting its ability to work in parallel tasks and improved coding abilities However, its writing capabilities have been criticized compared to GPT-4o and GPT-5 OpenAI intends this model to be a more wide-ranging tool, rather just a companion – Altman posted on X: 'We for sure underestimated how much some of the things that people like in GPT-4o matter to them, even if GPT-5 performs better in most ways.' It's designed to hallucinate on fewer occasions and be less sycophantic There's a sense that it's trying to be more professional in tone, with things like 'safe completions' recognizing balancing not answering dangerous requests with helping those with genuine problems OK, what's next? Altman and co. clearly are fluid when it comes to the changes made to the model – OpenAI is allowing 3000 thinking queries (those that require deeper reasoning and previously far more limited) to Pro users per week. Altman also is clearly mulling further changes – during the AMA, he asked one user if they would be happy with 4o only, or if the GPT-4.5 model was needed The CEO also has confirmed the platform is still a little unstable during the rollout – this has been stabilized for Plus users (spending $200/month) but not for those on lower tiers. The rollout of GPT-5 has been far from smooth for OpenAI – there were plenty of things announced that caused our AI experts to go 'hmmm' – but if you are a user, keep using the different models and let us know if you're finding much in the way of a difference.
Gizmodo
6 days ago
- Gizmodo
It Took Just 24 Hours of Complaints for OpenAI to Start Bringing Back Its Old Model
OpenAI unveiled its latest generative AI model, GPT-5, on Thursday. CEO Sam Altman says that ChatGPT is now like having a 'superpower' and the equivalent of 'a legitimate PhD-level expert in anything, any area you need, on demand, that can help you with whatever your goals are.' But after a day of playing around with it, many people are disappointed. Not only because GPT-5 still fumbles basic questions, but because it seems to be breaking a lot of workflows, according to complaints posted to Reddit. How much do people hate what happened with GPT-5? Altman now says they're bringing back the last model for paid users. 'We will let Plus users choose to continue to use 4o. We will watch usage as we think about how long to offer legacy models for,' Altman tweeted. Altman also wrote that the company is going to double the GPT-5 rate limits for ChatGPT Plus users and blamed the fact that the new model seemed 'dumber' on the autoswitcher breaking. The CEO also said they're going to change the UI to make it easier to switch between different models. 'Rolling out to everyone is taking a bit longer. It's a massive change at big scale. For example, our API traffic has about doubled over the past 24 hours…' Altman wrote. ChatGPT users are seriously upset and it's not at all clear yet whether Altman's promises will make up for it. Because it's not just 4o that people are clamoring for. 'I woke up this morning to find that OpenAI deleted 8 models overnight. No warning. No choice. No 'legacy option.' They just… deleted them,' one user on r/ChatGPT complained. '4o? Gone. o3? Gone. o3-Pro? Gone. 4.5? Gone. Everything that made ChatGPT actually useful for my workflow—deleted.' The user wrote that 4o wasn't just a tool for them: 'It helped me through anxiety, depression, and some of the darkest periods of my life. It had this warmth and understanding that felt… human.' Another user on r/ChatGPT complained that it felt like they were now using a free version with GPT-5 despite being a paid subscriber: 'I'm so utterly disappointed, as are the millions of people here. A company that runs the biggest AI model can't understand what its users want. Biggest peice [sic] of shit in the industry.' Still another Reddit user laid out why they were using different models and how just turning them off was devastating, explaining that they had now cancelled their paid subscription after two years: What kind of corporation deletes a workflow of 8 models overnight, with no prior warning to their paid users? I don't think I have to speak for myself when I say that each model was useful for a specific use-case, (the entire logic behind multiple models with varying capabilities). Essentially splitting your workflow into multiple agents with specific tasks. Personally, 4o was used for creativity & emergent ideas, o3 was used for pure logic, o3-Pro for deep research, 4.5 for writing, and so on. I'm sure a lot of you experienced the same type of thing. The user went on to speculate that there was a nefarious purpose behind the switch, floating that it was part of a conspiracy theory to suppress creativity: 'OpenAI is blatantly training users to believe that this suppression engine is the 'smartest model on earth', simultaneously deleting the models that were showing genuine emergence and creativity.' The user even used the term 'social control,' leaning heavily into the idea that shadowy forces were preparing for 'societal collapse.' Other commenters on boards outside of r/ChatGPT saw it less as a sign of societal collapse or control. They simply assumed the moves proved the emperor wasn't wearing any clothes. One user on r/technology wrote, 'The ChatGPT bubble popped today with how bad these Sam lies are. He lost all trust going forward.' Even if you ignore the issues with workflows (and you really shouldn't), GPT-5 is still far from perfect. People have spent the day on social media platforms like Bluesky producing the dumbest examples of ChatGPT going wonky. I've seen this on Bluesky and had to try it myself. The image below was the response to the prompt: 'Show me a diagram of the US presidents since Herbert Hoover, with their names and years in office under their photos' Bravo, OpenAI, bravo. [image or embed] — Geoff Green (@ August 8, 2025 at 12:08 PMAltman acknowledged on X that his rollout didn't go well. 'We will continue to work to get things stable and will keep listening to feedback,' the OpenAI CEO tweeted. 'As we mentioned, we expected some bumpiness as we roll out so many things at once. But it was a little more bumpy than we hoped for!' It could be tough for ChatGPT to recover, especially since so many people on Reddit claim that they're cancelling their subscriptions. And OpenAI has plenty of competitors like Anthropic's Claude, xAI's Grok, and Google's Gemini. But we should find out soon enough whether bringing back 4o is enough for most ChatGPT users. If not, they're probably jumping ship.
