The GPT-5 rollout has been a big mess

The recent introduction of OpenAI's GPT-5 model has not gone as planned, leading to significant discontent among users. Within days of its release, the rollout has ignited one of the most considerable user revolts seen in the history of ChatGPT. This backlash has compelled CEO Sam Altman to publicly apologize and retract several critical decisions. A key point of contention arose from OpenAI’s choice to eliminate access to all previous AI models in ChatGPT, totaling around nine, without any prior notice to consumers. Unlike API users, who typically receive advance warnings of model deprecations, everyday ChatGPT users found their preferred models suddenly unavailable. Independent AI researcher Simon Willison highlighted this issue in a blog post, emphasizing the lack of communication. The uproar began almost immediately after GPT-5's debut on August 7. A Reddit thread titled "GPT-5 is horrible" quickly garnered over 4,000 comments, with users venting their frustrations regarding the new model. By the following day, social media platforms were awash with complaints about performance issues, altered personalities, and the abrupt removal of older models. Users from various professions, including marketing and research, took to social media to share how their workflows had been disrupted. One Reddit user lamented, "I’ve spent months building a system to work around OpenAI’s ridiculous limitations in prompts and memory issues. And in less than 24 hours, they’ve made it useless." The impact of the model changes on workflows stems from the fact that each AI model is trained differently, resulting in unique output styles. Users had tailored their prompts to achieve optimal results based on the characteristics of each model. Willison noted that distinct workflows had evolved among user groups over time. One Reddit user pointed out, "I know GPT-5 is designed to be stronger for complex reasoning, coding, and professional tasks, but not all of us need a pro coding model. Some of us rely on GPT-4 for creative collaboration, emotional nuance, roleplay, and other long-form, high-context interactions."