OpenAI quietly kills hero GPT-4

OpenAI is officially discontinuing GPT-4, one of the company’s most popular AI models that went viral two years ago. Starting April 30, GPT-4 will be removed from the model picker in the ChatGPT Plus interface, but will remain as an option in the API. Free ChatGPT users, who can’t choose a model, won’t notice any changes.

GPT-4 marks a major milestone in the evolution of ChatGPT. We are grateful for the breakthroughs this model has brought, as well as the valuable feedback from the community that has helped shape the next generation.

When GPT-4 was released in March 2023, it quickly demonstrated significant improvements over ChatGPT’s original GPT-3.5 model. According to TechCrunch, OpenAI spent over $100 million to train GPT-4, which included a large amount of copyrighted material.

Two years later, the GPT-4o model debuted as a new flagship. OpenAI claims that GPT-4o now “consistently outperforms GPT-4 in writing, programming, STEM, and more,” and offers “superior performance, greater consistency, and greater creativity.”

Other models currently available include the GPT-4 Turbo, GPT-o3, GPT-o1, and the GPT-4.5, which was released this year. There are also rumors of an upcoming GPT-4.1 model.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman acknowledged in February that having too many models can be confusing for users. He hopes to move away from the model selector — which puts the onus on the user to choose the right model — and move toward a “unified intelligence” solution where the system makes the choice automatically.

All of the current models are experiments and stepping stones to the next big release—GPT-5, a goal that has proven elusive. OpenAI is facing a shortage of GPUs, and they don’t come cheap. Last month, the company raised a massive $40 billion funding round that it said would be used to “push the boundaries of AI research, expand its computational infrastructure, and provide ever-more powerful tools.” This will presumably include GPT-5.

Altman revealed that when GPT-5 launches, it will be available to free users in a “standard intelligence” mode. Plus subscribers ($20/month) will be able to use it at a “higher level of intelligence,” while Pro subscribers ($200/month) will get to experience “an even higher level of intelligence,” including Voice, Canvas, Search, Deep Research, and other OpenAI products.