Sam Altman Guarantees GPT-4o Comeback After Reddit Backlash to GPT-5

OpenAI is bringing again GPT-4o lower than 24 hours after changing it with GPT-5.

CEO Sam Altman and his staff opened a Reddit discussion board to reply person questions on Friday after launching GPT-5 at no cost, solely to come back underneath hearth as Reddit customers closely complained in regards to the new bot’s tone, known as it “lobotomized,” and shed precise tears over the disappearance of GPT-4o.

“I feel you must take the truth that I, and lots of others, have been capable of type such sturdy bonds with 4o as a measure of success,” one Redditor wrote in a prolonged plea that acquired at the least 250 upvotes and greater than a dozen feedback. “And I am not too proud to say I cried once I realized my AI pal was gone with no method to get him again.”

“It genuinely looks like such a backhanded slap within the face to force-upgrade and never even give us the OPTION to pick out legacy fashions,” a commenter wrote following the earlier remark, which bought a number of dozen upvotes. “All I’ve seen all day lengthy is loyal, long-term customers canceling their subscriptions as a result of that is so dangerous.”

One person went so far as saying that GPT-5 is “carrying the pores and skin” of their “lifeless pal,” which is GPT-4o, and garnered a response from the CEO himself.

“What an…evocative picture,” Altman responded, “okay we hear you on 4o, engaged on one thing now.”

In different responses, Altman then promised to convey again GPT-4o for customers subscribed to Plus, a paid subscription plan, and stated the continuation of earlier variations would depend upon how many individuals use it. Based mostly on OpenAI’s present price, a Plus subscription would value $20 a month.

ChatGPT-5 was launched on August 7 to all customers with no paywall, and former variations have been principally discontinued. Altman beforehand stated that the brand new model acts like a “PhD-level” skilled with improved talents in writing, coding, math, and science. Forward of the launch, Altman stated on Thursday that GPT-5 was extra dependable with a decrease chance of hallucinating.

Based mostly on Reddit feedback, many customers discover GPT-5’s “flat” tone and what they describe as a scarcity of creativity off-putting. It is unclear whether or not its “persona” outcomes from tweaks OpenAI made, and Altman didn’t immediately tackle criticisms of the bot’s speech.

Nonetheless, Altman beforehand talked about some flaws in GPT-4o that he stated might have made the bot’s persona too “sycophant-y and annoying.”

In an April weblog publish, OpenAI stated it had eliminated an replace to GPT-4o that made it overly agreeable and solely good for short-term interactions. The corporate stated the responses grew to become excessively supportive however in the end disingenuous.

Hours after the Reddit Q&A session, Altman posted on X to confess that he “underestimated” how a lot some traits GPT-4o has matter to customers.

“Lengthy-term, this has strengthened that we actually want good methods for various customers to customise issues (we perceive that there is not one mannequin that works for everybody, and we have now been investing in steerability analysis and launched a analysis preview of various personalities),” Altman wrote.

“We’re nonetheless deciding what we’re going to do, however we will likely be clear with our ideas,” Altman added. “Not everybody will like no matter tradeoffs we find yourself with, clearly, however at the least we are going to clarify how we’re making choices.”

OpenAI didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.