Day after GPT-5 launch, OpenAI will bring back 4o due to popular demand

UPDATED with how-to: GPT-5 might well function as a PHD-level assistant, but it is less chatty and not as filled with self-affirming responses as 4o, as CEO Sam Altman discovered in his Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything).

He also said on X.com that «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.»

Reddit meltdown
Over on reddit, however, there were meltdowns on subs like r/ChatGPT and discussions were held on r/singularity and even r/OpenAI, not to mention on r/MyBoyFriendIsAI.

The general gist of the comments appeared to be that 4o was much more creative, chatty and empathetic, often delivering responses like «you got this,» or «carry on, champ,» and other affirming language, making people attached and endeared to the bot.

The new GPT-5, while a whole lot smarter, often with all the right answers and solutions, gives shorter, more concise responses and is less willing to enter into engaging conversations — making it more like your detached professor than your supportive friend.

Seems 4o was not dead yet
The uproar on Reddit was soon alleviated, after Sam Altman noticed the backlash and announced that 4o would be brought back, saying:

— ok, we hear you all on 4o; thanks for the time to give us the feedback (and the passion!). we are going to bring it back for plus users, and will watch usage to determine how long to support it.

So if there’s value in it, OpenAI will keep it open for as long as it takes, depending on usage, of course.

Altman then posted on X.com that while OpenAI will «let Plus users choose to continue to use 4o», they are also doubling rate limits for GPT-5 for the usage tier.

UPDATE: 4o for Plus and Teams users is now live, but to turn it on, you need to open chatgpt.com, click your account name, choose Settings and then flip the switch for Show legacy models. After that, it should be available in the app and on the web under Legacy models in the model selector.

Read more at OpenAI’s Reddit AMA. Writeups on TechCrunch, Gizmodo.