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OpenAI released GPT-5.1 today, the first update for the GPT-5 model since its August debut.
It aims to be a more conversational version of GPT-5, and “warmer by default,” OpenAI says. “Based on early testing, it often surprises people with its playfulness while remaining clear and useful.”
Here, the company is referring to GPT-5.1 Instant, which it says is the “most-used model.” The other variant, GPT-5.1 Thinking, is an advanced reasoning model for more complex tasks.
Both are rolling out today, starting with paid users with Pro, Plus, Go, and Business subscriptions. Then, it will go to free and logged-out users. Those with an Enterprise and Edu account will get a seven-day early-access toggle (off by default). After that, GPT-5.1 will become the sole default model.
CEO Sam Altman calls the new model a “nice upgrade,” particularly “the improvements in instruction following, and the adaptive thinking,” as well as “intelligence and style improvements.”
He claimed to be caught off guard earlier this year when people found GPT-5 less friendly than its predecessor, GPT-4o. OpenAI revived GPT-4o for paid users, but Altman was not a fan of GPT-4o’s personality. In August, he confirmed the company was “working on an update to GPT-5’s personality which should feel warmer than the current personality but not as annoying (to most users) as GPT-4o.” He also promised more customization over the model’s personality.
GPT-5.1 delivers on that promise with the option to choose from six preset tone options—Default, Friendly, Efficient, Professional, Candid, or Quirky—or tune it yourself. OpenAI says the model is also “smarter,” and can “use adaptive reasoning to decide when to think before responding to more challenging questions, resulting in more thorough and accurate answers, while still responding quickly.”
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‘A New Form of Privilege’
These model upgrades come as OpenAI continues to battle copyright lawsuits. In December 2023, The New York Times sued the AI company for alleged copyright infringement, claiming it trained its models on published work without permission and surfaces snippets of articles verbatim in chatbot responses.
OpenAI is now fighting a court order that requires it to turn over 20 million ChatGPT conversations as part of the litigation. The Times claims “they might find examples of you using ChatGPT to try to get around their paywall,” according to OpenAI, which argues the ruling “disregards long-standing privacy protection [and] breaks with common-sense security practices.”
The conversations may help the Times prove that ChatGPT regurgitates its articles. Handing over data is common practice in lawsuits, but OpenAI says the request for chatbot conversations does “does not live up to [the NYT’s] legacy [of] defending people’s right to privacy throughout the world” with its journalism.
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OpenAI’s chief security officer Jason Kwon called for “a new form of privilege—AI privilege—given some of the kinds of conversations people are having with these tools today.”
One of the judges presiding over the case, Magistrate Judge Ona Wang, says OpenAI has not adequately explained why their users’ privacy was not protected given the strict measures and policies put in place or the discovery process, according to Business Insider.
“OpenAI has failed to explain how its consumers’ privacy rights are not adequately protected by: (1) the existing protective order in this multidistrict litigation or (2) OpenAI’s exhaustive de-identification of all of the 20 million Consumer ChatGPT Logs,” Wong wrote.
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.
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As a news and features writer at PCMag, I cover the biggest tech trends that shape the way we live and work. I specialize in on-the-ground reporting, uncovering stories from the people who are at the center of change—whether that’s the CEO of a high-valued startup or an everyday person taking on Big Tech. I also cover daily tech news and breaking stories, contextualizing them so you get the full picture.
I came to journalism from a previous career working in Big Tech on the West Coast. That experience gave me an up-close view of how software works and how business strategies shift over time. Now that I have my master’s in journalism from Northwestern University, I couple my insider knowledge and reporting chops to help answer the big question: Where is this all going?
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