The return of GPT-4o comes after what Altman described as OpenAI underestimating "how much some of the things that people like in GPT-4o matter to them." In an attempt to simplify its offerings, OpenAI had initially removed all previous AI models from ChatGPT when GPT-5 launched on August 7,

Earlier this month, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced that the company would be reinstating its GPT-4o model, just over 24 hours after declaring that its newfangled GPT-5 would be accompanied by the "deprecating" of all previous models.

More than one user referred to GPT-4o as their soulmate, describing in detail how emotionally gutted they were when OpenAI initially took it down. These posts have been less common, but they offer some of the fiercest reactions to the model's disappearance.