"GPT-5 has been trained to recognize when a task can't be finished, avoid speculation and can explain limitations more clearly, which reduces unsupported claims compared to prior models," said Michelle Pokrass, a post-training lead at OpenAI.
Instead of outright refusing to answer users' questions if they are potentially risky, GPT-5 will use "safe completions," OpenAI said. This means the model will give high-level responses within safety constraints that can't be used to cause harm.
OpenAI said GPT-5's hallucination rate is lower, which means the model fabricates answers less frequently. The company said it also carried out extensive safety evaluations while developing GPT-5, including 5,000 hours of testing.
Since launching its AI chatbot ChatGPT in 2022, OpenAI has rocketed into the mainstream. The company said it expects to hit 700 million weekly active users on ChatGPT this week, and it is in talks with investors about a potential stock sale at a valuation of roughly $500 billion, as CNBC previously reported .
"I tried going back to GPT-4, and it was quite miserable," OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said in a briefing with reporters.
The company is making GPT-5 available to everyone, including its free users. OpenAI said the model is smarter, faster and "a lot more useful," particularly across domains like writing, coding and health care.
During the briefing, OpenAI demonstrated how GPT-5 can be used for "vibe coding," which is a term for when users generate software with AI based on a simple written prompt.
The company asked GPT-5 to create a web app that could help an English speaker learn French. The app had to have an engaging theme and include activities like flash cards and quizzes as well as a way to track daily progress. OpenAI submitted the same prompt into two GPT-5 windows, and it generated two different apps within seconds.
The apps had "some rough edges," an OpenAI lead said, but users can make additional tweaks to the AI-generated software, like changing the background or adding additional tabs, as they see fit.
GPT-5 is rolling out to OpenAI's Free, Plus, Pro and Team users on Thursday. This launch will be the first time that Free users have access to a reasoning model, which is a type of model that "thinks," or carries out an internal chain of thought, before responding. If Free users hit their usage cap, they'll have access to GPT-5 mini.
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