The surprise deprecation of GPT-4o for ChatGPT consumers

OpenAI's launch of GPT-5 included the surprise deprecation of older models like GPT-4o for ChatGPT consumer users, causing significant user backlash. Many users preferred the older model for creative collaboration and emotional nuance, finding GPT-5 different for these use cases. The new system's automatic model selection based on the prompt was also criticized by power users for its lack of predictability. Following the negative feedback, OpenAI decided to reinstate access to GPT-4o for Plus subscribers.