Expect your ChatGPT experience to get faster and smarter today.
OpenAI updated its flagship line of large language models Thursday, unveiling the GPT-5 generative AI model after months of anticipation. While the developer has released a lot of model updates in recent months, including new open-weights models just this week, it's been more than two years since the debut of GPT-4. With a new generation worthy of a new number, how big of a change should you expect?
"I tried going back to GPT-4 and it was quite miserable," OpenAI CEO Sam Altman told reporters. "This is significantly better in obvious ways and subtle ways."
Like its predecessor, GPT-5 powers the chatbots, agents and search tools you're used to using in ChatGPT or through other apps that use OpenAI's technology. But the company said this version is much smarter, more accurate and faster. Demonstrations showed it quickly creating custom applications with no coding required, and developers said they've worked on ways to make sure it provides safer answers to potentially treacherous questions. (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.)
The new model should be available for everyone on Thursday, including those who use ChatGPT's free tier. Here's what to expect.
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One model for everybody (kinda)
Unlike some of OpenAI's incremental releases, GPT-5 will be rolled out for all users, from those using it for free through ChatGPT to those who work at companies that pay for big enterprise plans. There are, naturally, some differences between how it looks based on whether and how you pay for it. Here's a breakdown:
Free users: You'll get access to GPT-5 up to a usage cap, after which you'll have a lighter GPT-5-mini model.
You'll get access to GPT-5 up to a usage cap, after which you'll have a lighter GPT-5-mini model. Plus users: Similar to free users, but with higher usage limits.
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