Why ChatGPT Plus users think GPT-5 is a downgrade — and how OpenAI is trying to win them back

Ever since the rollout of OpenAI’s GPT-5 model last week, there has been growing disquiet among the company’s users over its performance compared to previous models. GPT-5’s tendency to answer questions briefly and in an emotionally distant manner has led many users to label it as a cost-saving exercise by the company.

What didn’t help was that, as GPT-5 started rolling out to all users, OpenAI also removed access to older models including GPT-4o, o3, o3 Pro, o4-mini, and more. While ChatGPT Pro and Team subscribers could still access these models…