Over 700 million people use ChatGPT every week, making the launch of GPT-5, a new AI model, one of the most significant events in the artificial intelligence world this year.

When a company like OpenAI releases a new major language model, people notice. But the launch of GPT-5 on August 7, 2025, was different. It wasn’t just about new technology and AI performance.

It was a story of big promises meeting a surprisingly human andemotional reaction from users.

GPT-5 landed with a simple promise: one model that adapts to you, not the other way around. OpenAI made it the default in ChatGPT, claiming the upgrade would boost the assistant to a “PhD-level” intellect while delivering faster replies, higher accuracy, and improved safety—even when tasks get complex. That set high expectations—and OpenAI didn’t deliver.

But OpenAI made a mistake—and users noticed fast. GPT-4o and old ChatGPT models were removed, the model picker vanished, and GPT-5 took over silently. OpenAI called it a simplification meant to streamline the experience. Reddit called it what it was: a forced downgrade.

The user backlash was loud and immediate. More than 5,000 Reddit users posted comparisons showing GPT-5 felt colder, less creative, and weaker in reasoning. On X, developers and tech enthusiasts echoed the same frustrations with screenshots and real-world failures. Within days, OpenAI reinstated GPT-4o, brought back the model picker, and admitted the rollout had been mishandled.

In this article, we’ll walk you through what GPT-5 actually changed—what’s better, what’s worse, and when to use each model now that you have a choice again.

What is ChatGPT-5 and how does it work for everyday users?

GPT-5 is OpenAI’s newest and most advanced model. Released on 7 August 2025, it replaced GPT-4o as the default engine for every ChatGPT reply. The model automatically evaluates each prompt: straightforward questions are answered almost immediately, while more complex requests may take a few extra seconds so GPT-5 can apply deeper reasoning.

In practice, GPT-5 operates through four internal versatile modes. Fast handles short, low-complexity prompts; Mini-Thinking adds context for medium tasks; Thinking performs multi-step reasoning; and Pro provides the same depth with higher message and token limits for subscribers.

This versatility ensures GPT -5 can adapt to a wide range of user needs.

Can I use GPT-5 for free, and what are the limits?

GPT-5 can answer in five distinct processing modes—Auto, Fast, Thinking Mini, Thinking, and Pro. Unless you pick one manually (paid plans only), the system automatically chooses the best fit for your prompt.

• Auto – GPT-5 checks prompt length, difficulty, and your remaining tokens, then silently routes the request to Fast, Mini, Thinking, or Pro. You don’t choose anything; it aims for the best mix of speed and detail.
• Fast – GPT -5’s swift mode, designed for instant answers, quick summaries, and everyday chat, is your go-to when time is of the essence. It efficiently handles 128k tokens, providing you with the speed you need, even if it doesn’t delve deeply into multi-step reasoning.
• Thinking Mini – Steps up when Fast feels shallow or you’ve used today’s Thinking quota. Adds moderate reasoning and short chain-of-thought explanations while staying quick. Same 128 k context, unlimited daily use.
• Thinking – GPT-5’s full reasoning engine, perfect for code reviews, research plans, or policy write-ups, is where precision meets structure. While replies may take longer and cost more tokens, the logic is more precise and better structured. Plus plans have a daily limit before falling back to Mini.
• Pro – Offers everything in Thinking mode, but with double the context (256 k), higher rate limits, and no daily ceiling. It also has higher rate limits and no daily ceiling, running on priority hardware for smooth performance. This mode is exclusively available to Pro and Team subscribers.

The 10 biggest official upgrades in GPT-5

GPT-5 brings significant improvements according to OpenAI, including fewer AI hallucinations, better coding support, and more human-like writing. The company claims better reasoning, voice interactions, and health information handling.

While OpenAI presents these as clear advances, real-world user reports show mixed experiences and inconsistent performance across different use cases.

Better reasoning and fewer hallucinations

GPT-5 is designed to be more trustworthy, with OpenAI claiming around a 42% drop in hallucinations (false or invented information) compared to GPT-4o. The company also reports stronger logical reasoning in internal tests, though real-world performance can still vary depending on the specific task and user.

Better at coding and complex tasks

OpenAI calls GPT-5 their best coding model yet, with major improvements in fixing bugs, improving code, and using tools effectively. It doesn’t just write code that works – it explains why certain changes make things better or easier to read, making it a helpful coding partner. How much it helps depends on your programming experience.

More human-like writing

OpenAI claims GPT-5 writes with more human-like rhythm, emotional tone, and depth — especially in longer-form tasks like blogging or storytelling. It’s designed to keep voice consistent and introduce richer metaphors, though how natural it feels can differ depending on your writing style and prompts.

Smarter, faster voice mode

The upgraded voice chat system is faster and more expressive, offering smoother back-and-forth conversations. According to OpenAI, the new speech model understands intent better and responds more fluidly — though microphone quality and environment still impact results.

Improved medical information handling

GPT-5 performs better on medical safety tests and gives more careful, well-organized health explanations. OpenAI describes it as a better starting point for understanding health conditions – not medical advice – and reminds users that you should still verify important health information with professionals.

Email and calendar integration (Pro Users)

Pro subscribers can now connect GPT-5 with Gmail and Google Calendar, letting it draft replies, surface essential messages, and manage schedules directly inside ChatGPT. This is a big step toward practical daily assistance — though availability may differ by region.

Larger memory and context window (up to 256k tokens)

Some GPT-5 versions can handle context windows up to 256,000 tokens, making it better at remembering long conversations or analyzing large documents. However, not all subscription plans include access to the full memory capacity.

Personalised personas & custom interface styling

GPT-5 lets you choose different response styles (like Precise, Friendly, or Direct) and customize the chat interface colors. This is designed to make the experience feel more personalized to your preferences, though how well it works depends on how you use it.

More honest about what it doesn’t know

GPT-5 was trained to acknowledge uncertainty instead of guessing to appear helpful. OpenAI’s internal data shows overly agreeable responses declined from 14.5% to under 6%, promoting more honest and direct interactions, though user experiences may still vary.

How to access and use GPT-5?

Understanding the features and limits for GPT-5 can be a bit confusing. The model is available to everyone, but what you get depends on your subscription plan. Here is a breakdown of what each tier offers.

For Free users ($0/month)

Users on the free plan have limited access to the standard GPT-5 model.

• Legacy Models: Free users do not have access to older models like GPT-4o.
• Message Limit: You can send 10 messages every 5 hours. After you reach this limit, ChatGPT will automatically switch to the less powerful GPT-5-mini model until your time resets.  
• ‘Thinking’ Mode: You get one message per day that uses the advanced ‘Thinking’ mode for more complex questions. However, you cannot choose when to use it; the system decides for you based on your prompt.

For Plus subscribers ($20/month)

The Plus plan offers a much more robust experience for regular users.

• Message Limit: You can send up to 160 messages every 3 hours. Like the free plan, it switches to GPT-5-mini if you go over the limit.  
• ‘Thinking’ Mode: You can manually select ‘Thinking’ mode for your questions, with a separate limit of 3,000 messages per week.  
• Legacy Models: Following the user backlash, OpenAI brought back access to GPT-4o for all Plus subscribers.

For Pro subscribers ($200/month)

The Pro tier is designed for professionals and developers who need the highest level of access.

• Legacy Models: Pro users have access to GPT-4o and other additional legacy models.  
• Message Limit: You get unlimited access to all GPT-5 models, subject to fair use policies.  
• ‘Thinking’ Mode: This plan includes unlimited access to GPT-5 Thinking Pro, a version with extended reasoning capabilities for the most demanding tasks.  

For Team and Enterprise users (custom pricing)

These plans offer the same benefits as the Pro tier but are designed for organizations. They include unlimited access to all GPT-5 models, including GPT-5 Thinking Pro, and access to legacy models.  

The backlash: Why are so many users unhappy with GPT-5?

Users are disappointed because GPT-5 feels like a forced downgrade from GPT-4. Users across Reddit, Twitter, and OpenAI’s forums consistently report the same problems: slower responses, worse accuracy, and less creativity compared to GPT-4.

The disappointment has been so strong that many people are already trying other alternatives to ChatGPT.

Lost “personality”: GPT-5 is missing GPT-4o’s creative spark

The biggest complaint was about GPT-5’s personality. Users who loved GPT-4o’s engaging conversation style found the new version boring and lifeless. Social media was full of people calling it a “personality lobotomy,” saying responses felt robotic compared to the warmth and creativity they were used to.

“It feels like the personality has been lobotomized,” one user wrote in a Reddit thread with over 2,000 upvotes. “I ask for a creative story, and I get a Wikipedia summary. It’s not the same product.”

Creative users felt this change most strongly. Writers were upset about losing character voices they’d worked on for months, while others called GPT-5 a “corporate beige zombie that completely forgot it was your best friend 2 days ago.” These reactions showed how emotionally connected people had become to their AI interactions.

The backlash revealed something important about modern AI use. For many people, these systems had become more than just tools – they were creative partners, conversation companions, and trusted helpers. OpenAI’s focus on technical improvements had accidentally destroyed these meaningful digital relationships.

This demonstrated that AI advancement must balance performance metrics with the emotional ties users build with the technology.

Technical problems: slower, less smart, and more mistakes

Beyond personality issues, users reported serious technical problems. Many found GPT-5 much slower than before and said it frequently lost track of conversations. People complained it created false information more often and would even contradict its own previous answers. The model seemed worse at handling difficult tasks, often giving boring, robot-like responses instead of creative solutions.

Sam Altman later revealed that a technical bug on launch day forced the system to use the weaker ‘Chat’ mode for most questions. This, he explained, made the model “seem way less capable” than it actually was.

Forced migration and frustration with new limits

OpenAI’s deployment choices amplified user anger. Eliminating GPT-4o and other models without warning made users feel ignored and powerless. Established work systems that depended on previous models suddenly failed.

The updated usage boundaries felt especially restrictive. Free users could only interact 10 times every 5 hours, making the platform impractical for real productivity. Even subscribers encountered severely reduced quotas, with some reaching their daily limit in less than 60 minutes.

This forced transition to a weaker product with tighter access felt unfair to dedicated customers.

OpenAI’s Response: An Apology and the Return of GPT-4o

Facing intense criticism, OpenAI moved quickly to fix the situation. In posts on Reddit and X, Sam Altman admitted the company had made serious mistakes. He said they had “underestimated how much some of the things that people like in GPT-4o matter to them” and apologized for the chaotic launch and removing the old models, calling it a “mistake.”

Altman announced that OpenAI would increase message limits for paid users and, most importantly, bring back GPT-4o as an option for all paid subscribers through a “Legacy Models” toggle in settings.

This rapid reversal showed that the company’s vision of a single, unified model didn’t match what users actually wanted.

New problems emerged: GPT-5 wearing a GPT-4o skin

Unfortunately, restoring GPT-4o didn’t solve the trust issues. Users across forums and social media now claim the returned GPT-4o isn’t the same model they remember. Many describe it as feeling “hollow,” “mechanical,” or like “GPT-5 wearing a GPT-4o skin.”

The creative personality and warmth that users loved seems to be missing, leading to theories that OpenAI is running a cheaper, modified version to save on server costs.

The ‘smart router’ theory: what’s happening under the hood?

A popular theory for GPT -5’s initial disappointment centers on its “smart router” system. This feature automatically selects the sub-model that best handles your question based on its complexity. This system was meant to send easy questions to basic models and challenging questions to advanced ones.

But users quickly noticed a pattern: the router appeared to be defaulting to lighter, cheaper models for the majority of requests. While this approach likely reduced processing costs, it also meant that many queries received less thorough analysis and more generic responses than users anticipated from such an advanced system.

The chaotic launch made GPT-5’s problems even more obvious. A major server crash on day one caused users to lose their chat sessions and conversation histories, creating a terrible first impression right out of the gate. Plus subscribers faced another frustration with the new ‘Thinking’ mode’s strict usage limits.

Many people paying for Plus expected reliable access to the most advanced features, but they kept hitting the usage cap almost instantly. This forced them back to the standard mode they were already disappointed with.

GPT-5 vs. GPT-4o: technical skills vs. creative spark

When you compare them directly, GPT-5 and GPT-4o have very different strengths.

GPT-5 is better at technical tasks, offering:

• Stronger reasoning and better accuracy on complex, multi-step problems
• The ability to remember much longer conversations without getting confused
• Improved safety features that reduce harmful or biased responses

GPT-4o and the o-series are better at connecting with users, providing:

• More human-like, natural conversation that feels less robotic
• Greater willingness to explore creative and unconventional ideas
• A playful personality that makes interactions more engaging

GPT-5 may be more reliable, but its formal, cautious approach makes it less appealing for creative work. Speed depends on the mode – GPT-5 runs at similar speeds in Standard but takes longer in its ‘Thinking mode’, a mode that involves comprehensive analysis and reasoning, which is why it takes longer. 

Responding to user demands, OpenAI has restored GPT-4o and o-series access for Plus and Pro subscribers.

GPT-5 capabilities: Can GPT-5 use files, images, or browse?

Yes. GPT-5 is a multimodal model, which means it can work with much more than just text. It has several built-in tools that let you upload files, analyze images, and browse the web all within the same chat.

What it can do:

• File Analysis (.pdf, .csv, .docx): Upload documents to get instant summaries, data extraction, or code debugging. You can drop in a 50-page report and get the key points in minutes.
• Image Understanding (.jpg, .png): GPT-5 can “see” and interpret images. Take a photo of handwritten notes and it’ll turn them into a typed action plan, identify plants from pictures, or explain complex diagrams.
• Live Web Browsing: The model searches the internet for current information like breaking news, real-time market data, or recent articles that weren’t in its original training.
• Data Analysis & Charts: Upload spreadsheets and GPT-5 will run calculations and create visual charts and graphs right in the chat, like turning your sales data into a bar chart.

Important Limitations:

• Web Access: Can only reach public websites – no paywalls or private content works in the API for now; OpenAI says it will announce a sunset date well in advance.
• File Restrictions: There are limits on file size and only certain formats work
• Image Quality: Results depend on how clear and readable your images are

What to keep in mind with GPT-5?

While GPT-5 is powerful, treat it like a smart assistant rather than a perfect expert. To get the best results and avoid problems, keep these three key points in mind:

• Double-Check Important Information. GPT-5 still makes mistakes, creates false facts, or gets complex topics wrong. This is especially risky for health, legal, or financial questions. Always verify critical information with trusted, primary sources before making decisions based on its advice.
• Features Roll Out Differently for Everyone. Advanced tools like file uploads, image analysis, and web browsing are being released gradually. The features you can access might be different from what other users have. Don’t worry if a tool you’ve heard about isn’t available in your account yet.
• You Can’t Always Control How It Thinks. GPT-5 uses an internal system to decide whether to give you a quick answer or spend more time reasoning through your question. You have limited control over which approach it chooses, which means answer quality can vary from one response to the next.

What’s new for developers in GPT-5?

GPT-5 gives developers a more adaptable and stable API platform that manages the trade-offs between cost, speed, and capability.

The main upgrades include multiple model tiers and substantial improvements in response reliability and safety.

Flexible model tiers for every project

GPT-5 offers three distinct API options, letting you match the right model to your application’s requirements and budget:

GPT-5-Nano: The quickest and most economical choice.

• Best For: Large-scale, time-sensitive operations like customer service bots, content categorization, and real-time sentiment tracking, where response speed is crucial.
• Key Advantage: Speed-optimized design.

GPT-5-Mini: The model that strikes a perfect balance between solid performance and cost efficiency, ensuring developers get the most value for their money.

• Best For: Standard applications, including content generation of moderate complexity and development projects that need reliable reasoning at manageable costs.
• Key Advantage: Balanced intelligence and affordability.

GPT-5-Full: The most advanced and precise model for sophisticated requirements.

• Best For: Mission-critical applications like comprehensive technical analysis, legal document processing, or complex code development where accuracy cannot be compromised.
• Key Advantage: Maximum reasoning power and reliability.

Enhanced production stability

Beyond the tiered models, OpenAI has strengthened GPT-5’s dependability for real-world deployment:

• Significantly Reduced Hallucinations: The model generates false information much less frequently, making it more suitable for applications requiring factual accuracy.
• Default Safety Features: The new “Safe Completions” system automatically filters out inappropriate or harmful responses, minimizing content moderation requirements for developers.

For specific token costs and API limits across all models, visit the official OpenAI API pricing page.

Conclusion

On paper, GPT-5 represents OpenAI’s most advanced model to date, achieving new benchmarks in coding, reasoning, and accuracy. However, the launch has revealed what many users perceive as cost-reduction strategies. The reaction goes beyond concerns about losing GPT-4o’s conversational style – users believe OpenAI is directing them toward cheaper, less capable models while maintaining the same subscription fees.

Many subscribers feel they’re paying premium prices for what seems like a downgraded experience.

The concerns are growing. Users point to the ‘smart router’ system as a source of disappointing responses, with many believing it’s configured to route most queries to lighter, more economical models to reduce server expenses. The restored GPT-4o also feels different to many users – more mechanical and less engaging. This has led to theories that OpenAI might be running a modified version while presenting it as the original. Some users describe it as ‘GPT-5 wearing a GPT-4o skin,’ suggesting the company may be making behind-the-scenes adjustments while maintaining the appearance of premium service. This sense of being misled is a significant factor in the growing user dissatisfaction.

The situation has shifted beyond technical performance to questions of trust. When users suspect that profit margins take priority over their experience, even significant technical improvements may not repair that relationship. OpenAI has developed a more unified system with better accuracy and safety features. Still, they now face a different challenge: maintaining user confidence that they’re receiving the value they’re paying for.

What is certain is that GPT-5 hasn’t had the positive impact it was expected to deliver. The AI industry’s future may depend on companies that can advance technology while preserving customer trust in their service quality.

Origianl Creator: Paulo Palma
Original Link: https://justainews.com/blog/gpt-5-guide/
Originally Posted: Mon, 18 Aug 2025 12:54:31 +0000