OpenAI
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is bidding farewell to some of its AI models, including GPT-4o, GPT-4.1, GPT-4.1 mini, and OpenAI o4-mini from ChatGPT on Friday, February 13.
Among these, GPT-4o is notable for driving significant growth with its multilingual and multimodal capabilities, making it one of the company's most popular models.
This comes as the majority of users have shifted to the newer GPT-5.2 model, with only 0.1% of users still opting for GPT-4o daily.
Why GPT-4o is Being Retired
GPT-4o was initially deprecated but later brought back due to user feedback, particularly from Plus and Pro users who valued its conversational style and warmth. The feedback played a crucial role in shaping the development of GPT-5.1 and GPT-5.2, which offer improved personality, creative ideation, and customisation options.
Users could pick from styles and tones like Friendly and tweak warmth and enthusiasm levels, giving them more control "over how ChatGPT feels to use—not just what it can do."
In a blog post on January 29, the artificial intelligence company said, “We’re announcing the upcoming retirement of GPT‑4o today because these improvements are now in place, and because the vast majority of usage has shifted to GPT‑5.2, with only 0.1% of users still choosing GPT‑4o each day.”
What's Next for ChatGPT
OpenAI is focused on enhancing ChatGPT's personality and creativity, as well as addressing issues like unnecessary refusals and overly cautious responses.
The company is also working towards a version of ChatGPT designed for adults, prioritising user choice and freedom within safe boundaries.
Age prediction features have been rolled out for users under 18 in most markets, reflecting OpenAI's commitment to responsible AI development.
OpenAI believes retiring models is essential to focus on improving the models that see the most usage. "Changes like this take time to adjust to, and we’ll always be clear about what’s changing and when. We know that losing access to GPT‑4o will feel frustrating for some users, and we didn’t make this decision lightly," the company said.
OpenAI Upgraded the GPT-5 Series
Last year in November, OpenAI upgraded the GPT-5 series with two new models: GPT-5.1 Instant and GPT-5.1 Thinking.
GPT-5.1 Instant is "our most-used model, now warmer, more intelligent, and better at following your instructions."
While GPT‑5.1 Thinking is an advanced reasoning model within the OpenAI GPT-5 series designed to be easier to understand and faster on simple tasks, while being more persistent on complex ones.
