OpenAI launches o3-mini model in ChatGPT and API, expands access to free users

Just days after DeepSeek disrupted the AI landscape and Microsoft made its o1 model free for all Copilot users, OpenAI has rolled out o3-mini, its latest reasoning model, in ChatGPT and its API services. The launch comes exactly two weeks after OpenAI CEO Sam Altman hinted at its arrival, keeping to the promised timeline.

For the first time, OpenAI is making a version of its reasoning models available to free users of ChatGPT, though with rate limits similar to those of GPT-4o.

Paid users, including those subscribed to ChatGPT Plus, Team, and Pro…