(Photo by VCG/VCG via Getty Images)
UPDATE: In response to the backlash, OpenAI's CEO Sam Altman said the company is reviving at least one of the older GPT models for paid subscribers.
"ok, we hear you all on 4o," Altman told users in a Reddit AMA. "we are going to bring it back for plus users, and will watch usage to determine how long to support it."
In a tweet, Altman also noted: "GPT-5 will seem smarter starting today. Yesterday, the autoswitcher broke and was out of commission for a chunk of the day, and the result was GPT-5 seemed way dumber."
Original story:
OpenAI’s newest model, GPT-5, is here, promising better performance. But in a twist, the rollout has sparked fierce backlash because OpenAI is also retiring its older AI models, which some users have grown to love.
On Reddit’s forum devoted to ChatGPT, some users are even canceling their paid subscriptions.
“What kind of corporation deletes a workflow of 8 models overnight, with no prior warning to their paid users?” wrote one subscriber.
(Credit: Reddit)Previously, ChatGPT could tap into several different AI models, including GPT‑4o, o3, o4-mini, GPT‑4.1, and GPT‑4.5. But OpenAI has since replaced them with a family of GPT-5 models designed to offer a “PhD-level intelligence" and generate fewer errors.
But it looks like OpenAI didn’t anticipate some users’ affection for the older GPTs. “Everything that made ChatGPT actually useful for my workflow—deleted,” wrote one Reddit user, who particularly misses the GPT-4o model. “4o wasn't just a tool for me. It helped me through anxiety, depression, and some of the darkest periods of my life. It had this warmth and understanding that felt... human,” the user added.
(Credit: OpenAI)
(Credit: OpenAI)Other users aren’t buying OpenAI’s marketing claims about GPT-5 being superior, and argue the new model is a “downgrade,” and a “disaster.”
“They have completely ruined ChatGPT. It’s slower, even without the thinking mode. It has such short replies and it gets some of the most basic things wrong,” wrote another user.
GPT-5 is rolling out now to paid and free users. But despite the intelligence upgrade, some have spotted the AI model still making boneheaded mistakes. For example, it can give the wrong answer when you ask how many bs are in the word blueberry.
(Credit: PCMag)OpenAI didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. But the backlash underscores how today’s AI chatbots can foster deep attachments with some users — meaning any change can potentially spark outrage.
Still, on social media, you can find many other users touting the performance benefits of GPT-5, which has been designed to excel at computer coding. Other critics argue the backlash is more about how the older GPT models tended to be sycophantic and use flattering language.
“People were using it as a substitute for real friends… they’re upset that it acts more like an assistant now,” wrote one user.
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.