Sam Altman brings GPT-4o back to ChatGPT Plus

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has confirmed that GPT-4o will return to ChatGPT for all Plus subscribers — a move that follows a wave of criticism over the recent GPT-5 rollout. Some users already see the option in settings under "Show legacy models."

The GPT-5 launch earlier this month removed the model selection panel from ChatGPT, forcing all Plus users onto the new system. The change sparked a backlash: many claimed GPT-4o’s answers felt "more alive" than GPT-5’s. On Reddit, the thread "GPT-5 is horrible" gained over 6,000 upvotes and 2,000 comments, with users saying the upgrade feels like a downgrade disguised as an improvement.

Common complaints included:

• Weekly limits: Plus subscribers now get 200 messages per week, compared to higher or unlimited caps before.
• No model choice: GPT-4o, GPT-4, and GPT-3.5 were initially removed.
• Shorter, shallower responses: GPT-5 often avoids complex reasoning or deep analysis.
• Loss of personality: Replies feel more formal and "flat."
• Token limits: Answers may be cut off earlier than in GPT-4o.

While OpenAI calls GPT-5 its “smartest and most advanced model,” many users feel otherwise. GPT-5 is actually a family of models optimized for different tasks, but most interactions are routed to the simplest variant.

Altman also announced a new indicator coming soon to show which GPT-5 family model is responding at any given time.