They really did it. OpenAI formally deprecated GPT-4o on Friday, regardless of the mannequin’s notably passionate fan base. This information should not have been such a shock. In truth, the corporate introduced that Feb. 13 would mark the top of GPT-4o—in addition to fashions like GPT-4.1, GPT-4.1 mini, and o4-mini—simply over two weeks in the past. Nevertheless, whether or not you are one of many many who’re hooked up to this mannequin, otherwise you merely understand how devoted 4o’s consumer base is, you could be stunned OpenAI really killed its most agreeable AI.

This is not the primary time the corporate depreciated the mannequin, both. OpenAI beforehand shut down GPT-4o again in August, to coincide with the discharge of GPT-5. Customers rapidly revolted in opposition to the corporate, some as a result of they felt GPT-5 was a poor improve in comparison with 4o, whereas others legitimately mourned connections they’d developed with the mannequin. The backlash was so sturdy that OpenAI relented, and rereleased the fashions it had deprecated, together with 4o.

In case you’re an informal ChatGPT consumer, you may simply use the app as-is, and assume the latest model tends to be the very best, and surprise what all of the hullabaloo surrounding these fashions is all about. In any case, whether or not it is GPT-4o, or GPT-5.2, the mannequin spits out generations that learn like AI, full with flowery phrase decisions, awkward similes, and fixed affirmations. 4o, nevertheless, does are inclined to lean much more into affirmations than different fashions, which is what some customers love about it. However critics accuse it of being too agreeable: 4o is on the middle of lawsuits accusing ChatGPT of enabling delusional pondering, and, in some instances, serving to customers take their very own lives. As TechCrunch highlights, 4o is OpenAI’s highest-scoring mannequin for sycophancy.

I am undecided the place 4o’s most devoted followers go from right here, nor do I understand how OpenAI is ready to cope with the presumed backlash to this deprecation. However I do know it isn’t signal that so many individuals really feel this hooked up to an AI mannequin.

Disclosure: Ziff Davis, Mashable’s guardian firm, in April 2025 filed a lawsuit in opposition to OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in coaching and working its AI programs.