On Tuesday, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced that GPT-4o has officially returned to ChatGPT following significant user backlash over its abrupt removal during last week’s GPT-5 rollout. GPT-4o is once again visible in the model picker for all paid ChatGPT users, including ChatGPT Plus subscribers—marking a rapid reversal after thousands voiced frustration over losing access to a model many preferred.
Altman’s follow-up comments acknowledged that OpenAI had underestimated “how much some of the things that people like in GPT-4o matter to them.” When GPT-5 launched on August 7, OpenAI removed all prior models from ChatGPT in an effort to streamline its offerings. Instead, the forced upgrade triggered one of the largest user uprisings in the platform’s history—highlighted by a viral Reddit thread titled “GPT-5 is horrible,” which quickly amassed more than 2,000 comments.
In addition to restoring GPT-4o, OpenAI introduced several changes aimed at addressing user complaints. GPT-5’s Thinking mode received a dramatic bump in rate limits—from 200 to 3,000 messages per week—with users able to continue beyond that threshold using “GPT-5 Thinking mini.” The company also added new routing options—“Auto,” “Fast,” and “Thinking”—giving people more granular control over how GPT-5 handles different types of queries.
A screenshot of ChatGPT Pro’s model picker interface captured on August 13, 2025.
Credit:
Benj Edwards
For users subscribed to ChatGPT Pro at $200 per month, Altman confirmed that even more models—including o3, 4.1, and GPT-5 Thinking mini—will soon appear under a new “Show additional models” toggle in the ChatGPT web settings. He also noted that GPT-4.5 will remain exclusive to Pro users due to its high GPU costs.