Summary: OpenAI has launched GPT-5.1, an upgrade to its flagship GPT-5 model, designed to make ChatGPT smarter, warmer, and more enjoyable to interact with. The update introduces two new models—GPT-5.1 Instant and GPT-5.1 Thinking—and expands personality presets, allowing users to customize their chatbot experience with options like Friendly, Candid, and Nerdy. This release comes after mixed reactions to GPT-5 and reflects OpenAI’s commitment to enhancing user experience amid growing competition.
Introducing GPT-5.1: Smarter and More Enjoyable
OpenAI is rolling out GPT-5.1 today, an upgrade to the GPT-5 model released in August. According to OpenAI, this update “makes ChatGPT smarter and more enjoyable to talk to.” The company emphasizes a “warmer” interaction style and improved intelligence, aiming to enhance the overall conversational experience.
New Models: GPT-5.1 Instant and GPT-5.1 Thinking
The update includes two new models: GPT-5.1 Instant and GPT-5.1 Thinking. GPT-5.1 Instant is described as “warmer, more intelligent, and better at following your instructions” compared to its predecessor. GPT-5.1 Thinking, on the other hand, is “easier to understand and faster on simple tasks, and more persistent on complex ones.” OpenAI plans to auto-match user queries to the model best suited to answer them. These models will begin rolling out to ChatGPT users this week, while the older GPT-5 models will remain available in ChatGPT’s legacy models dropdown for three months before being phased out.
Expanded Personality Presets for ChatGPT
Alongside the new models, OpenAI has expanded the personality presets that shape the conversational tone of ChatGPT. Users can now choose from eight options: Default, Professional, Friendly, Candid, Quirky, Efficient, Nerdy, and Cynical. Additionally, OpenAI is experimenting with new ways to fine-tune ChatGPT’s style directly from settings, with some users gaining access to these features starting this week.
Fidji Simo, OpenAI’s CEO of Applications, highlighted the importance of customization in a recent Substack post, stating, “With more than 800 million people using ChatGPT, we’re well past the point of one-size-fits-all.”
User Feedback and Industry Response
Despite the hype around GPT-5’s launch in August, many users found the improvements incremental and expressed frustration with OpenAI’s decision to make GPT-5 the default ChatGPT model. The backlash was significant enough that OpenAI reinstated GPT-4 as an option just a day after GPT-5’s release.
Meanwhile, Microsoft’s strategic partnership with OpenAI has expanded to include rival AI models from Anthropic. These models now power tools like Copilot Researcher, GitHub Copilot, Copilot Studio, and a new Office Agent capable of generating Word and PowerPoint documents through Microsoft’s Copilot chat interface.
Recent Developments and Future Outlook
The announcement of GPT-5.1 follows OpenAI’s recent launch of ChatGPT Atlas, an AI-powered web browser featuring an “agent mode” currently available to ChatGPT Plus and Pro users. This mode functions similarly to OpenAI’s Operator tool, enabling the AI to perform actions on users’ behalf within the browser.
With GPT-5.1, OpenAI aims to address user feedback and provide a more personalized, engaging AI experience as the landscape of conversational AI continues to evolve.
Follow topics and authors from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates.