OpenAI Responds to Criticism: Older ChatGPT Models Return

According to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, GPT-5 was supposed to be the company’s crowning jewel. So much so that its capabilities “scared” the CEO. However, when GPT-5 was released, it was met with immense criticism. One of which was the inability for users to opt to use back the older GPT-4o model. However, after a lot of public backlash, Altman has announced OpenAI will allow users to select the ChatGPT version they want from the model picker.

ChatGPT model picker lets you pick older models

In a post on X, Altman said, “4o is back in the model picker for all paid users by default. If we ever do deprecate it, we will give plenty of notice. Paid users also now have a “Show additional models” toggle in ChatGPT web settings which will add models like o3, 4.1, and GPT-5 Thinking mini. 4.5 is only available to Pro users—it costs a lot of GPUs.”

Prior to this, ChatGPT users could only choose from the different GPT-5 models in the model picker. This wouldn’t be an issue had GPT-5 been well-received. However, if you take a quick look on r/ChatGPT, you’ll find tons of users complaining about the new model. From it being “worse” than GPT-4o, to claims that it outright lies, and about its lack of personality.

This is something that Altman agrees needs addressing. “We are working on an update to GPT-5’s personality which should feel warmer than the current personality but not as annoying (to most users) as GPT-4o. However, one learning for us from the past few days is we really just need to get to a world with more per-user customization of model personality.”

Choosing older models

Now, if you wanted to pick an older GPT model, it’s not so straightforward. You can click the model picker at the top and under legacy models, you will only find GPT-4o. However, if you wanted different models like GPT-4.1 and o3, you’ll have to add them from ChatGPT’s settings.

This means that by default, GPT-4o is the only legacy model that is initially available from the list. You’ll have to add the older models manually if you want to access them. We imagine that OpenAI will at some point deprecate the older models. However, in the meantime, if you find that the GPT-5 AI model isn’t living up to your expectations, you can always switch back.