OpenAI retiring GPT-4o and several ChatGPT models on Feb 13 despite user backlash over warmth

Chatbot Breakup: OpenAI to Retire GPT-4o Right Before Valentine's Day

Fans of GPT-4o, prepare to bid adieu. OpenAI is sunsetting the model for good, months after the company retired and then un-retired it for paid subscribers following user backlash over GPT-5. The company plans on retiring GPT-4o, alongside several other models, on Feb. 13. In a blog post, OpenAI also went out of its way to explain the decision, noting that the "vast majority of usage has shifted to GPT‑5.2, with only 0.1% of users still choosing GPT‑4o each day." "We brought GPT‑4o back after hearing clear feedback from a subset of Plus and Pro users, who told us they needed more time to transition key use cases, like creative ideation, and that they preferred GPT‑4o's conversational style and warmth," the blog post says. But while GPT-4o was being offered, OpenAI was also taking user feedback to shape GPT-5.1 and 5.2, which the company seems confident is satisfying customers. The blog post also notes that users can customize ChatGPT's personality to add "warmth and enthusiasm" in its responses. "Our goal is to give people more control and customization over how ChatGPT feels to use -- not just what it can do," the company added. We'll have to wait and see if there's any backlash. But some users are already pointing out that OpenAI is killing off the beloved GPT-4o the day before Valentine's Day. GPT-4o was first retired in August when OpenAI released GPT-5, which promised better performance for ChatGPT. But the company quickly reversed course after some users complained that GPT-5 was a downgrade and that GPT-4o possessed a "warmth and understanding" that was absent in the newer model. The controversy also sparked concerns over whether GPT-4o was too sycophantic, and how AI chatbots can foster deep, and potentially unhealthy, attachments with users. "Oh boy, can't wait to read all the breakdown posts," wrote one Reddit user about GPT-4o's imminent shutdown. In the meantime, OpenAI says it's continuing to improve the personality and creativity of its AI models, including "addressing unnecessary refusals and overly cautious or preachy responses, with updates coming soon." On Feb. 13, the company will also retire GPT‑4.1, GPT‑4.1 mini, and OpenAI o4-mini and GPT-5 from ChatGPT. But it looks like OpenAI will still be serving the models to developers and business customers through its API. The company also plans on releasing an adults-only ChatGPT version later this quarter. Disclosure: Ziff Davis, PCMag's parent company, filed a lawsuit against OpenAI in April 2025, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.

OpenAI axes ChatGPT models with just two weeks' warning

GPT-4o gets second death sentence after last year's reprieve, but this time barely anyone's bothered OpenAI is sunsetting some of its ChatGPT models next month, a move it knows "will feel frustrating for some users." GPT‑4o, GPT‑4.1, GPT‑4.1 mini, and OpenAI o4-mini are on the way out on February 13, alongside GPT-5 (Instant and Thinking). The retirements apply to ChatGPT. "In the API, there are no changes at this time," the company stated. It isn't the first time OpenAI has attempted to pull the plug on GPT-4o - the model was deprecated last year following the rollout of GPT-5. However, the subsequent outcry resulted in a U-turn, and OpenAI restored both the model and the ability to select it. According to OpenAI, users "preferred GPT‑4o's conversational style and warmth," prompting it to tweak subsequent releases. Most usage is now on GPT-5.2, with only 0.1 percent of users choosing GPT-4o each day. After the furor, OpenAI boss Sam Altman said of GPT-4o: "If we ever do deprecate it, we will give plenty of notice." Confirmation of the latest changes is dated January 29, meaning there are two weeks before the model will be pulled from ChatGPT. The response has been considerably more muted compared to last year's deprecation attempt. One user on Reddit grumbled: "This sucks. I still use 4o daily. It just has a different personality and gives better nuance to certain questions. I'll use 5.2 as well, but it doesn't replace 4o. I don't see why they can't just leave it well alone." But considering the low usage levels and the fact most users will have stuck with the defaults and gone nowhere with GPT-4o, the decision is understandable, despite the relatively short notice. "Changes like this take time to adjust to... and we didn't make this decision lightly," OpenAI said. Probably best not to get too attached to that AI virtual buddy. You never know when somebody might decide that the time has come to decommission it. ®

OpenAI will retire several models, including GPT-4o, from ChatGPT next month

OpenAI announced it will retire several models from its ChatGPT chatbot next month, including its GPT‑4o model that is beloved by some users. The artificial intelligence startup launched GPT-4o in May 2024, and its warm conversation style was extremely popular with a subset of its paid users. The company faced backlash in August after it briefly removed access to GPT-4o following the launch of a newer model, GPT-5. OpenAI swiftly restored access to GPT-4o for paid users, and CEO Sam Altman pledged to give "plenty of notice" if the company ever decided to retire it, according to a post on X in August. Now, it seems that day is fast approaching. "We know that losing access to GPT‑4o will feel frustrating for some users, and we didn't make this decision lightly," OpenAI said in a blog post Thursday. "Retiring models is never easy, but it allows us to focus on improving the models most people use today." OpenAI said just 0.1% of users are choosing to use GPT-4o every day, and that the "vast majority" of people are using its model GPT‑5.2. The company said it has made improvements to model personality, customization and creative ideation in recent months, which is why it feels prepared to officially retire GPT-4o. Aside from GPT‑4o, OpenAI said GPT‑4.1, GPT‑4.1 mini and OpenAI o4-mini will be retired from ChatGPT. The company had previously announced that GPT‑5 Instant and GPT-5 Thinking will also be removed from the chatbot. OpenAI said there are no changes to its application programming interface.

'Time to cancel': OpenAI sparks fresh fury by retiring GPT-4o model again as it claims 'we didn't make this decision lightly'

OpenAI feels that GPT-5.2 adds many features that are popular in GPT-4o Back in August, OpenAI officially retired a slate of its AI models, including GPT-4o. That was met with a swift backlash, forcing OpenAI to reinstate the model - yet its time is finally up for good, as GPT-4o is once again being put out to pasture. In an announcement on the company blog, OpenAI explained that "on February 13, 2026 ... we will retire GPT‑4o, GPT‑4.1, GPT‑4.1 mini, and OpenAI o4-mini from ChatGPT." The company added that some "special context" was needed regarding GPT-4o and noted that after GPT-5 was released and GPT-4o was initially retired, OpenAI received "clear feedback" from users. This revealed that many customers felt that they "needed more time to transition key use cases, like creative ideation, and that they preferred GPT‑4o's conversational style and warmth." However, with the release of GPT-5.1 and GPT-5.2, OpenAI feels that it has addressed most of those concerns. What's more, the firm states that just 0.1% of users are "still choosing GPT‑4o each day," adding that it knows retiring GPT-4o will feel "frustrating" and that "we didn't make this decision lightly." Yet doing so, it says, "allows us to focus on improving the models most people use today." Unsurprisingly, given the reaction when GPT-4o was retired in August, the latest announcement has not gone down well with a section of ChatGPT users. Writing on Reddit, for example, user ClankerCore said: "Time to go to change.org and start filling out petitions again. We brought 4o back last time. We'll bring it back again." For another paid ChatGPT subscriber, the decision was simple: "time to cancel." In a separate thread, another user set out exactly why they wanted to keep using GPT-4o: "Many users (myself included) feel that GPT-4o offered something unique - not just in performance, but in personality, warmth, and consistency. Some of us have built long-term creative projects, emotional support routines, or study workflows with this specific model. Losing it entirely, without even a fallback or opt-in legacy mode, feels abrupt and deeply disappointing." Still, it appears that this unlikely to change OpenAI's opinion. In the aforementioned blog post, the company said that "the vast majority of usage has shifted to GPT‑5.2," adding that this model has built-in features for "base styles and tones like Friendly, and controls for things like warmth and enthusiasm." It seems, therefore, that OpenAI is happy that GPT-5.2 meets the standards set by GPT-4o and that it will serve as a satisfactory replacement. Whether that is enough to placate the small but passionate userbase of GPT-4o remains to be seen. But with OpenAI seemingly content that GPT-5.2 addresses the concerns of its users, it seems that this really is the end of the road for GPT-4o.

OpenAI to retire GPT-4o from ChatGPT next month

OpenAI announced Thursday it will retire several models, including GPT-4o, from its ChatGPT chatbot next month to concentrate development on models used by most customers. The company launched GPT-4o in May 2024. This model gained popularity among a subset of paid users for its warm conversational style. OpenAI described it as beloved by some for these qualities. In August 2024, OpenAI briefly disabled access to GPT-4o shortly after introducing the newer GPT-5 model. The firm restored access promptly for paid subscribers amid user complaints. During that period, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman addressed concerns on X. He pledged to provide "plenty of notice" if the company ever decided to retire GPT-4o. This commitment came directly in response to the temporary removal. In a blog post published Thursday, OpenAI acknowledged user attachment to the model. The post stated, "We know that losing access to GPT‑4o will feel frustrating for some users, and we didn't make this decision lightly." The company continued, "Retiring models is never easy, but it allows us to focus on improving the models most people use today." OpenAI cited recent advancements as preparation for this step. OpenAI reported that only 0.1% of users select GPT-4o daily. In contrast, the vast majority rely on GPT-5.2. These usage patterns underpin the retirement decision. The firm highlighted specific enhancements in model personality, customization options, and creative ideation capabilities over recent months. Besides GPT-4o, the retirements encompass GPT-4.1, GPT-4.1 mini, and OpenAI o4-mini from ChatGPT. OpenAI had already disclosed plans to remove GPT-5 Instant and GPT-5 Thinking from the chatbot. These changes apply solely to ChatGPT. OpenAI confirmed no modifications to its application programming interface. Developers accessing models via API face no disruptions from these actions. On September 23, 2025, Sam Altman spoke during a media tour of the Stargate data center in Abilene, Texas. This facility represents a collaboration among OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank. The project received promotional support from President Donald Trump. The partners aim to construct data centers and related infrastructure for artificial intelligence across the United States.

OpenAI to Retire GPT-4o and Other Legacy AI Models in ChatGPT in February

Several ChatGPT users have expressed disappointment over the news OpenAI announced the retirement date for several legacy artificial intelligence (AI) models in ChatGPT. Most notable in the list is the GPT-4o, which has already survived one sunset attempt. In August 2025, the San Francisco-based AI giant tried to retire the model after introducing GPT-5, but many users protested, highlighting that the newer model lacked the emotional nuance and writing sophistication of the legacy model. As a result, the model was reinstated. However, the company now believes the newer AI models offer similar capabilities, and the user base continuing with GPT-4o has shrunken significantly. GPT-4o Gets a Retirement Date In a post, the AI giant announced that on February 13, GPT-4o and several other AI models will be retired from ChatGPT. These include GPT-5 Instant, GPT-5 Thinking, GPT-4.1, GPT-4.1 mini, and o4-mini. This change is only applicable to ChatGPT, with the OpenAI application programming interface (API) continuing to get unchanged access to the legacy models. OpenAI gave a special mention to GPT-4o while making the announcement. This is likely because, in the past, a portion of the user base protested when the company tried to retire the model. Now, it claims to have learned more about how people used the model and brought these capabilities to GPT-5.2. Some of these improvements include fine-tuning the personality, adding support for creative ideation, and customisation tools. Users can now select from multiple preset base styles to change the way the chatbot responds. Additionally, markers such as warmth and enthusiasm can also be adjusted. Notably, OpenAI added that only 0.1 percent of users still choose GPT-4o each day. Several users have expressed frustrations over this decision on social media platforms. One user on X (formerly known as Twitter), Claire (@Claire20250311), argued against the 0.1 percent data shown by OpenAI and said, "Ever since GPT-5.2 became the default, most users naturally follow the path of least resistance. 4o requires a paid subscription to even access, and you use safety routing to interrupt conversations with it at will[..]And your decision is an invitation for us to leave ChatGPT." Another user, @Clo0oOoud, said, "OpenAI claims only "0.1% of users" are still choosing GPT-4o. Yet here are 10K posts trending in just a few hours." Interestingly, earlier this week, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman admitted during the company's inaugural town hall that with GPT-5.2, the writing performance had declined as the focus was shifted to coding, reasoning, and mathematics.