OpenAI has reinstated GPT-4o as the default language model for all paying subscribers of ChatGPT, including those on the Plus, Pro, Team, Enterprise, and Edu tiers. Users will no longer need to enable a “show legacy models” setting to access GPT-4o. Additionally, a new “Show additional models” setting will allow access to GPT-4.1, o3, and o4-mini, models designed for reasoning-focused tasks.
This announcement was made by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman on X, where he stated that users would be given “plenty of notice” if GPT-4o were to be removed in the future. The models are accessible in the “picker” menu at the top of the ChatGPT interface on both web and mobile formats.
The change comes in the wake of a tumultuous first week for GPT-5, which was released on August 7 in four variants, including regular, mini, nano, and pro, along with optional “thinking” modes. Feedback regarding GPT-5 included infrastructure issues and user dissatisfaction with the sudden removal of older models.
The recent update also introduces new controls, allowing users to choose between “Auto,” “Fast,” and “Thinking” modes for GPT-5. The “Thinking” mode features a 196,000-token context window but is capped at 3,000 messages per week for paying subscribers. Users can switch to the lighter “GPT-5 Thinking mini” mode once the cap is reached.
While GPT-4.5 remains available only to Pro users due to its GPU costs, Altman mentioned a potential personality adjustment for GPT-5 to create a “warmer” tone than the current version. OpenAI is also assessing the feasibility of user-specific customization as a long-term solution to address user attachments to particular models.
Source: https://venturebeat.com/ai/openai-brings-gpt-4o-back-as-a-default-for-all-paying-chatgpt-users-altman-promises-plenty-of-notice-if-it-leaves-again/