ChatGPT-5 likes getting straight to the point.
For some, that's a reprieve from its chattier predecessor, GPT-4o. For others, something will certainly seem off.
Despite the hype leading up to OpenAI's launch of GPT-5, it ultimately doesn't feel too different from 4o. The quality of responses in my ongoing testing seems to be at the level of past models, including the o3 "reasoning" model. The major difference is that some responses generate very quickly in relatively few words, while others can take over a minute to fully process. It's still the same excellent research tool and idea generator, but with more computational efficiency, at least in my first impression.
(Disclosure: Ziff Davis, CNET's parent company, in April filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.)
GPT-5 is different. You may not like that
In reality, ChatGPT-5 isn't one model but a blend of multiple AI models. For smaller inquiries, it'll opt for its "fast" version, a smaller AI that can quickly answer questions without needing to process tons of data. Then, there's a "thinking" model, which takes more time to answer complex questions to give a comprehensive output.
ChatGPT-5 is an efficient blend, jumping between models to match the speed of Google's AI Overviews for some queries or leaning into the tremendous power of OpenAI's massive server stacks for deeper, multifaceted questions.
So, why are people upset?
Some fans on Reddit argue OpenAI killed ChatGPT's creativity. There was more randomness to GPT-4o, which led to fun and more engaging answers. It's this backlash to ChatGPT-5 that led OpenAI to bring back GPT-4o, but only for paying subscribers. GPT-5 is also getting tweaks, with the model becoming warmer and friendlier.
More time to think, but better answers
When ChatGPT-5 switches to "thinking" mode or when you manually set it, the model takes much longer to output responses. In some instances, it can take a few minutes. But the quality of response is usually worth the wait.
When given queries that require in-depth research with cross-references to multiple sites, GPT-5 provides a comprehensive breakdown. When asked to help research people who'd fallen in love with their AI boyfriends and girlfriends, GPT-5 took 2 minutes and 20 seconds to bring up a list of background research. It also presented OpenAI policies and different angles to consider when researching this topic.
To me, it felt like ChatGPT Free, supercharged. ChatGPT-5 uses more bullet points instead of long essay-style paragraphs. But these bullet points are heavily sourced and packed with detail.
When trying to research ways to fix my Rock Band drum set, where corroded batteries destroyed the terminals, ChatGPT-5 gave a solid list of repair suggestions and supplies to buy. This includes using vinegar and baking soda to dissolve the corrosion, new battery terminals to buy on Amazon and soldering steps. It wasn't a comprehensive explanation but rather a list of steps that can generally be applied to fixing corroded battery compartments. I asked 4o the same question and got a less detailed answer.
I've also been researching high-quality performance socks, because this is the only joy I have left in my life. I've always preferred ChatGPT as my go-to shopping assistant, but I find GPT-5 sometimes gets mired in detail rather than producing a list with product recommendations. It still does a great job of looping in product photos and easily letting you click out to various storefronts.
ChatGPT-5's image generator seems to be on par with 4o. It does a great job of turning your pictures into Ghibli-inspired reproductions, but it still can take some back-and-forth prompting to get things right. In trying to create a birthday card for a friend, sometimes it would generate something I liked, but additional prompting would randomly change the size and orientation. It seems that when creating higher DPI images, that's where ChatGPT-5 really struggles. So, keep things under 1,500 pixels.
Leaner, faster, sure. But better?
In my testing, ChatGPT-5 doesn't feel too dissimilar from GPT-4o, especially given the constant stream of tweaks OpenAI has been implementing in the past two weeks. It certainly feels faster, however. Let's see if that speed brings in new users or jettisons them.
ChatGPT-5 feels like a step toward more efficiency and straightforwardness rather than a big jump in performance. That may be the point. Clearly, people were having long, drawn-out conversations with GPT-4o. It was leading to AI delusion in some. This back-and-forth on repeat was also eating up server costs. By having a mix of models and dumbing ChatGPT down a bit, or making it a bit more terse, it's likely saving OpenAI some money.
This is all conjecture, however. Granted, CEO Sam Altman has spoken in the past about the company's GPU crunch and how even telling ChatGPT "thank you" was costing the company millions. Given that ChatGPT has 700 million weekly users and that OpenAI plans on spending a trillion dollars on data centers, the company probably doesn't want to give everyone a new, more powerful, more intensive model. Altman has even acknowledged that the company has better models -- but doesn't have the capacity to run them. That probably explains ChatGPT-5 better than anything.
Sorry, Sam, but ChatGPT-5 isn't the Death Star from Star Wars on the horizon. It can't destroy planets. Heck, it couldn't even destroy its predecessor. It might, however, be a stormtrooper who occasionally hits his target.