(Credit: OpenAI)
OpenAI is retiring GPT-4, one of its most well-known AI models.
Effective April 30, GPT-4 will be removed from the drop-down menu known as the "model picker" for ChatGPT Plus users. It will remain an option in the API. Those who are using ChatGPT for free cannot select the model they use, so their experience won't change.
"GPT‑4 marked a pivotal moment in ChatGPT’s evolution," OpenAI says. "We’re grateful for the breakthroughs it enabled and for the feedback that helped shape its successor."
When GPT-4 debuted in March 2023, it was a noticeable improvement over ChatGPT's initial model, GPT-3.5. OpenAI spent over $100 million training GPT-4, TechCrunch reports. Some of that training included copyrighted materials, The New York Times argues in an ongoing lawsuit.
Two years later, the GPT-4o model debuted as the new flagship. Today, it "consistently surpasses GPT‑4 in writing, coding, STEM, and more," and delivers "even greater capability, consistency, and creativity," OpenAI says.
Other available models include GPT-4 Turbo, GPT-o3, GPT-o1, and GPT-4.5, which launched this year. There are also rumors of an upcoming GPT-4.1 model.
Having that many models can be confusing, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman admitted in February. He hopes to eventually do away with the model picker, which puts the onus on the user to select the appropriate model for the task, and move toward a "unified intelligence" solution, where the system picks.
All the models it offers are experiments and steps toward its next big release, GPT-5, which has proven difficult to achieve. OpenAI is battling GPU shortages and those graphics cards aren't cheap. Last month, it closed a massive $40 billion funding round, which it says will "push the frontiers of AI research even further, scale our compute infrastructure, and deliver increasingly powerful tools." That will, presumably, include GPT-5.
When GPT-5 arrives, Altman says it will be available to free users on a "standard intelligence" setting. Plus subscribers ($20/month) will be able to run it at "a higher level of intelligence," and Pro subscribers ($200/month) at an "even higher level of intelligence" that includes Voice mode, Canvas, Search, Deep Research, and other OpenAI products.
For more on ChatGPT, check out Mashable's article on using it to create your own action figure.