OpenAI

GPT-5 criticised for lacking flair as users seek older ChatGPT options

OpenAI’s rollout of GPT-5 has faced criticism from users attached to older models, who say the new version lacks the character of its predecessors.

GPT-5 was designed as an all-in-one model, featuring a lightweight version for rapid responses and a reasoning version for complex tasks. A routing system determines which option to use, although users can manually select from several alternatives.

Modes include Auto, Fast, Thinking, Thinking mini, and Pro, with the last available to Pro subscribers for $200 monthly. Standard paid users can still access GPT-4o, GPT-4.1, 4o-mini, and even 3o through additional settings.

Chief executive Sam Altman has said the long-term goal is to give users more control over ChatGPT’s personality, making customisation a solution to concerns about style. He promised ample notice before permanently retiring older models.

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Musk acknowledges value in ChatGPT-5’s modesty after public spat

Elon Musk has taken an unexpected conciliatory turn in his feud with Sam Altman by praising a ChatGPT-5 response, ‘I don’t know’, as more valuable than overconfident answers. Musk described it as ‘a great answer’ from the AI chatbot.

Initially sparked by Musk accusing Apple of favouring ChatGPT in App Store rankings and Altman firing back with claims of manipulation on X, the feud has taken on new dimensions as AI itself seems to weigh in.

At one point, xAI’s Grok chat assistant sided with Altman, while ChatGPT offered a supportive nod to Musk. These chatbot alignments have introduced confusion and irony into a clash already rich with irony.

Musk’s praise of a modest AI response contrasts sharply with the often intense claims of supremacy. It signals a rare acknowledgement of restraint and clarity, even from an avowed critic of OpenAI.

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OpenAI softens GPT-5 tone after users complain it felt cold

OpenAI has updated GPT-5 to make its tone noticeably warmer and more engaging, without reverting to the overly flattering style some users criticised in GPT-4o. The change is rolling out, aiming to balance emotional resonance with substance.

CEO Sam Altman stated the adjustment directly responds to users finding GPT-5 too formal or robotic. The update is subtle yet visible, enhancing conversational warmth while avoiding sycophantic tendencies.

OpenAI also expands user control by offering three interaction modes, Auto, Fast, and Thinking, which adapt response style to user preference. These changes empower users to shape the tone and depth of their AI interactions.

Reacting to public frustration, OpenAI has reinstated GPT-4o (along with GPT-4.1, o3, and GPT-5 Thinking mini) for paid subscribers, while promising more customisation options in future updates.

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ChatGPT dominates mobile AI market

ChatGPT’s mobile app has surpassed $2 billion in worldwide consumer spending since its launch in May 2023, according to Appfigures. Revenue from January to July 2025 alone reached $1.35 billion, a 673% increase from the same period in 2024.

The app has also dominated downloads, with an estimated 690 million lifetime installs, including 318 million added in 2025. India leads in total downloads at 13.7%, followed by the US, which accounts for 38% of revenue.

Competitors such as Grok, Claude, and Copilot remain far behind, with Grok generating just $25.6 million in 2025.

Consumer spending per download reinforces ChatGPT’s lead, averaging $2.91 globally and $10 in the US. The figures highlight OpenAI’s dominance in the mobile AI assistant market, despite ongoing criticism from X owner Elon Musk, who has alleged that the App Store suppresses competition.

Apple has rejected these claims.

The AI market continues to heat up as Microsoft integrates OpenAI’s GPT-5 into its Copilot offerings. Elon Musk has predicted intense competition, while OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has downplayed Musk’s criticism, emphasising innovation and collaboration as the sector expands.

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Sam Altman admits OpenAI holds back stronger AI models

OpenAI recently unveiled GPT-5, a significant upgrade praised for its advances in accuracy, reasoning, writing, coding and multimodal capabilities. The model has also been designed to reduce hallucinations and excessive agreeableness.

Chief executive Sam Altman has admitted that OpenAI has even more powerful systems that cannot be released due to limited capacity.

Altman explained that the company must make difficult choices, as existing infrastructure cannot yet support the more advanced models. To address the issue, OpenAI plans to invest in new data centres, with spending potentially reaching trillions of dollars.

The shortage of computing power has already affected operations, including a cutback in image generation earlier in the year, following the viral Studio Ghibli-style trend.

Despite criticism of GPT-5 for offering shorter responses and lacking emotional depth, ChatGPT has grown significantly.

Altman said the platform is now the fifth most visited website worldwide and is on track to overtake Instagram and Facebook. However, he acknowledged that competing with Google will be far harder.

OpenAI intends to expand beyond ChatGPT with new standalone applications, potentially including an AI-driven social media service.

The company also backs Merge Labs, a brain-computer interface rival to Elon Musk’s Neuralink. It has partnered with former Apple designer Jony Ive to create a new AI device.

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GPT-5 impresses in reasoning but stumbles in flawless coding

OpenAI’s newly released GPT-5 draws praise and criticism in equal measure, as developers explore its potential for transforming software engineering.

Launched on 7 August 2025, the model has impressed with its ability to reason through complex problems and assist in long-term project planning. Yet, engineers testing it in practice note that while it can propose elegant solutions, its generated code often contains subtle errors, demanding close human oversight.

Benchmark results showcase GPT-5’s strength. The model scored 74.9% on the SWE-bench Verified test, outperforming predecessors in bug detection and analysis. Integrated into tools such as GitHub Copilot, it has already boosted productivity for large-scale refactoring projects, with some testers praising its conversational guidance.

Despite these gains, developers report mixed outcomes: successful brainstorming and planning, but inconsistent when producing flawless, runnable code.

The rollout also includes GPT-5 Mini, a faster version for everyday use in platforms like Visual Studio Code. Early users highlight its speed but point out that effective prompting remains essential, as the model’s re-architected interaction style differs from GPT-4.

Critics argue it still trails rivals such as Anthropic’s Claude 4 Sonnet in error-free generation, even as it shows marked improvements in scientific and analytical coding tasks.

Experts suggest GPT-5 will redefine developer roles rather than replace them, shifting focus toward oversight and validation. By acting as a partner in ideation and review, the model may reduce repetitive coding tasks while elevating strategic engineering work.

For now, OpenAI’s most advanced system sets a high bar for intelligent assistance but remains a tool that depends on skilled humans to achieve reliable outcomes.

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Employees of OpenAI eye multi-billion dollar stock sale

According to a source familiar with the talks, OpenAI employees are preparing to sell around $6 billion worth of shares to major investors, including SoftBank Group and Thrive Capital.

The deal, still at an early stage, would push the company’s valuation to $500 billion, up from its current $300 billion.

SoftBank, Thrive and Dragoneer Investment Group are already among OpenAI’s backers, and their participation in the secondary share sale would further strengthen ties with the Microsoft-supported AI company.

Reports suggest the size of the sale could still change as discussions continue.

The planned deal follows SoftBank’s leadership role in OpenAI’s $40 billion primary funding round earlier this year. Employee share sales often reflect strong investor demand and highlight the rapid growth of companies in competitive markets.

OpenAI has seen user numbers and revenues soar in 2025, with weekly active ChatGPT users climbing to about 700 million, up from 400 million in February.

The company doubled its revenue in the first seven months of the year, hitting an annualised run rate of $12 billion, and is expected to reach $20 billion by the end of the year.

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New OpenAI hire shares savvy interview strategies

Bas van Opheusden, who joined OpenAI as a technical staff member in July, has published a comprehensive eight-page guide for aspiring applicants, offering strategic advice spanning recruiter calls, coding interviews, compensation discussions and more.

He suggests treating recruiter conversations as strategic briefings, which are key for understanding the hiring manager’s priorities, team dynamics, role expectations, and organisational goals.

Van Opheusden recommends taking notes during calls, ideally using a dual-screen setup, and arranging windows so it appears you’re maintaining eye contact.

He also shared a standard error: arriving at coding interviews without remembering the exact role he’d applied for, underscoring the importance of clear preparation and role alignment.

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OpenAI’s GPT-5 faces backlash for dull tone

OpenAI’s GPT-5 launched last week to immense anticipation, with CEO Sam Altman likening it to the iPhone’s Retina display moment. Marketing promised state-of-the-art performance across multiple domains, but early user reactions suggested a more incremental step than a revolution.

Many expected transformative leaps, yet improvements mainly were in cost, speed, and reliability. GPT-5’s switch system, which automatically routes queries to the most suitable model, was new, but its writing style drew criticism for being robotic and less nuanced.

Social media buzzed with memes mocking its mistakes, from miscounting letters in ‘blueberry’ to inventing US states. OpenAI quickly reinstated GPT-4 for users who missed its warmer tone, underlining a disconnect between expectations and delivery.

Expert reviews mirrored public sentiment. Gary Marcus called GPT-5 ‘overhyped and underwhelming’, while others saw modest benchmark gains. Coding was the standout, with the model topping leaderboards and producing functional, if simple, applications.

OpenAI emphasised GPT-5’s practical utility and reduced hallucinations, aiming for steadiness over spectacle. At the same time, it may not wow casual users, its coding abilities, enterprise appeal, and affordability position it to generate revenue in the fiercely competitive AI market.

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Musk faces an OpenAI harassment lawsuit after a judge rejects dismissal

A federal judge has rejected Elon Musk’s bid to dismiss claims that he engaged in a ‘years-long harassment campaign’ against OpenAI.

US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers ruled that the company’s counterclaims are sufficient to proceed as part of the lawsuit Musk filed against OpenAI and its CEO, Sam Altman, last year.

Musk, who helped found OpenAI in 2015, sued the AI firm in August 2024, alleging Altman misled him about the company’s commitment to AI safety before partnering with Microsoft and pursuing for-profit goals.

OpenAI responded with counterclaims in April, accusing Musk of persistent attacks in the press and on his platform X, demands for corporate records, and a ‘sham bid’ for the company’s assets.

The filing alleged that Musk sought to undermine OpenAI instead of supporting humanity-focused AI, intending to build a rival to take the technological lead.

The feud between Musk and Altman has continued, most recently with Musk threatening to sue Apple over App Store listings for X and his AI chatbot Grok. Altman dismissed the claim, criticising Musk for allegedly manipulating X to benefit his companies and harm competitors.

Despite the ongoing legal battle, OpenAI says it will remain focused on product development instead of engaging in public disputes.

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