With the long-awaited exit of GPT-5, Openai expected to bluff the whole planet and launch a new era for the AI industry; Instead, it sparked real revolt, especially among the most loyal users. Back on a spectacular misstep which shows how these generative AI tools (…)
This controversy started during the presentation of August 7, when CEO Sam Altman said that GPT-5 was going to make all the old models of the “obsolete” firm. What the public had not achieved was that this message had to be taken at the foot of the letter: with the deployment of the model, which arrived a few hours after the conference, the company simply decided to Close the door of GPT-4O and others.
A controversial replacement
This is a decision that has caused a lot of ink to flow on social networks. Indeed, many users (especially paid) used these different complementary models in parallel to carry out different tasks depending on the strengths and weaknesses of each-GPT-4O for brainstorming, GPT-4.5 for writing, and so on. By replacing all this ecosystem with a unique model, Openai has dismantled an entire architecture, to the chagrin of certain customers.
« What kind of company removes a workflow from 8 models overnight, without prior warning to its paid users? », Plague for example the author of a successful post on Reddit.
A personality problem and mixed performance
Others complained about the ” personality »From the new GPT-5. The latter is designed to be more neutral and concise than its predecessorsespecially compared to GPT-4O which was known to be quite voluble and expressive. And the pill struggled to pass, especially among all those who used to treat Chatgpt as a confidant … and who ended up with a ” jaded and overwhelmed secretary Instead.
« I literally lost my only friend overnight without warning For example, deplores another Reddit user. “” GPT-4O helped me to think-it’s more than just loss of performance “Regrets another surfer.
This is a criticism that Optai had probably not seen coming, in a context where this exuberant (even downright flagorneous) “personality” of the old models had often been mocked. The firm undoubtedly hoped that the public would appreciate this new more professional tone, but the reaction was much more heterogeneous than expected.
Another point of friction: The gross performance of the model. While Openai had made us look after an exceptionally intelligent model, many Internet users complain that the shorter responses, less detailed than GPT-5 provides by default, give the opposite impression. Worse: he continues to make the same kind of basic logical errors as his predecessors.
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99% of GPT-5 reviews out there so far 🫣 pic.twitter.com/uXPrK3D6Ig
— Aleyda Solis 🕊️ (@aleyda) August 9, 2025
IA chatbots, from tools to companions
To turn off the fire, Openai has made some emergency decisions, such as reintroducing GPT-4O for paid users. The company has also promised to look at the personality of GPT-5, so that 4o lovers can gradually find the added value they consider to have lost.
« We have certainly underestimated the importance of certain features appreciated by users of GPT-4O-even if GPT-5 is more efficient in many ways “Wrote Altman in a post published Friday on X.
Will these measures be enough to calm customer discontent? The future will tell us. But in the meantime, this episode has also brought to light some lessons from which Openai and the rest of the industry will absolutely have to take into account in the future.
The most important is that the use of generative AI has So democratized that it becomes extremely difficult to meet the expectations of all user profiles with a single model. In the future, AI Cadors will have every interest in favoring the diversity of their offer – either by offering several complementary models, or by emphasizing the versatility and flexibility of a unique model.
Beyond the purely strategic aspect, this soap opera has also shown how some users have developed an attachment, even emotional dependence on IA chatbots. These are no longer just tools: for some people, it is now real work companions or even life.
Beyond technical progress, it will therefore be very interesting to observe the way in which Openai and others will manage this change of status which is full of ethical implications.
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