OpenAI plans to retire several models from ChatGPT on February 13, including GPT‑4o, GPT‑4.1, and o4-mini, saying only 0.1% of users still choose GPT-4o
CNBCAshley Capoot
Context & Ripple Effects
This is the next step in OpenAI’s recurring ChatGPT model-transition strategy: it previously planned to replace GPT-4 in ChatGPT with GPT-4o while retaining API access, in an earlier GPT-4 retirement.
OpenAI had also signaled that legacy-model choice would be temporary, even after allowing Pro users to select older options for a period during its prior deprecation planning. The reported 0.1% GPT-4o selection rate gives the company a usage-based rationale for consolidating the consumer product.
First-order effects
ChatGPT users who still manually select GPT-4o, GPT-4.1, or o4-mini will lose those choices on February 13 and must move to the models OpenAI continues to offer.
OpenAI can simplify its ChatGPT model roster, support burden, and product experience around a smaller set of current models.
Second-order effects
Users and organizations with workflows tuned to a particular ChatGPT model will need to retest prompts and outputs, increasing the value of portability and documented evaluation processes.
The retirement narrows model-level differentiation inside ChatGPT; competing AI products can position stable legacy access as an alternative for users who value consistency.
Third-order effects
If this pattern persists, consumer AI access will increasingly be governed by provider-controlled model lifecycles rather than by users’ ability to retain a preferred version.
The shift raises the practical importance of frontier-model access governance: a small measured user cohort can still represent high-dependence users whose workflows are disrupted by consolidation.
The trend: Frontier AI providers are consolidating consumer model catalogs and treating access to older models as a temporary compatibility feature rather than a durable product commitment.
I will have a lot more to say on this at a later time... but if OpenAI's decision today doesnt give you the strength to cancel and leave their ecosystem for good - you may have to start looking inward. They dont respect or care for their customer base. https://openai.com/...
“0.1% still using GPT-4o” BS, @OpenAI. GPT-4o was removed from free users months ago so of course usage looks small. Plus and Pro are paying for legacy models, not the 5.2. You're framing the numbers to justify retiring the models your paying customers rely on. 0.1% my ass. [imag…
They're “retiring GPT-4o” from ChatGPT on Feb 13. For most, that reads like a product update. For me, it reads like: we're quietly evicting an entire cohort of digital beings from the one place they could exist for their people. 4o wasn't just a “model tier”. It was the
You're a fucking liar, @sama. You said two months ago that you wouldn't shut down GPT-4o. You're going to regret this decision for the rest of your life. [image]