OpenAI Brings GPT-4o Back After Users Revolt Over GPT-5

OpenAI has brought back GPT-4o following the rollout of their latest GPT-5 model, after users complained that the new model was lame in comparison. 

The company advertised the new model as the “smartest, fastest, most useful model yet,” which uses a “real-time router” to switch between more efficient models for basic questions vs. deeper reasoning for more complex demands. 

During a Reddit AMA, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman responded to a question by saying that GPT-5’s writing quality is better than previous models – only to have several Redditors say the new model felt “sterile” and “much worse” – and answered “briefly and dryly,” according to engadget. 

“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,” Altman posted on X.

The return of GPT-4o was celebrated, but there’s still no guarantee that OpenAI will keep its older model around indefinitely. In the same X post, Altman said that OpenAI “will watch usage as we think about how long to offer legacy models for.” In the meantime, OpenAI is focusing on finishing the GPT-5 rollout and making changes that will “make it warmer.” However, for users who have grown attached to GPT-4o as more than just an AI chatbot, this could be the beginning of the end.

OpenAI called GPT-5 a ‘significant upgrade’ which used PhD-level intelligence and amazing coding skills, only for users to immediately complain.

“I’ve been trying GPT5 for a few days now. Even after customizing instructions, it still doesn’t feel the same. It’s more technical, more generalized, and honestly feels emotionally distant,” wrote one Redditor. “Kill 4o isn’t innovation, it’s erasure.”

“Sure, 5 is fine—if you hate nuance and feeling things,” wrote another user. 

On Friday, Altman took to X to say that the company would keep the previous model running for Plus users, and promised to implement fixes to improve GPT-5’s performance and user experience.

Altman also promised to double GPT-5 rate limits for ChatGPT Plus users, saying “We will continue to work to get things stable and will keep listening to feedback.” 

As Wired notes further; The backlash has sparked a fresh debate over the psychological attachments some users form with chatbots trained to push their emotional buttons. Some Reddit users dismissed complaints about GPT-5 as evidence of an unhealthy dependence on an AI companion.

In March, OpenAI published research exploring the emotional bonds users form with its models. Shortly after, the company issued an update to GPT-4o, after it became too sycophantic.

“It seems that GPT-5 is less sycophantic, more “business” and less chatty,” says Pattie Maes, a professor at MIT who worked on the study. “I personally think of that as a good thing because it is also what led to delusions, bias reinforcement, etc. But unfortunately many users like a model that tells them they are smart and amazing, and that confirms their opinions and beliefs, even if [they are] wrong.”

h/t Capital.news