So You Miss GPT-4o? Here’s How to Get It Back (And Why You’re Not Alone)
Hey everyone. Let’s talk about the little bit of chaos that went down in the AI world recently. If you’re a ChatGPT Plus user, you probably noticed that for a hot minute, your beloved GPT-4o model vanished, replaced by the shiny new GPT-5. And if you’re anything like the thousands of people who flooded Reddit & Twitter with feedback, you might have felt a bit of a sting.
It turns out, a LOT of people were not happy. It felt like your favorite quirky, clever, and sometimes hilarious AI companion was suddenly replaced by a colder, more robotic sibling. The backlash was so swift & so loud that OpenAI did something pretty rare: they reversed course.
The good news? If you're a Plus, Pro, or Team subscriber, you can get GPT-4o back. The whole situation was a fascinating peek into how attached we’re becoming to the personalities of these AI models. It’s not just about getting the right answer anymore; it’s about how you get that answer.
This whole episode has people asking a bunch of questions. Why do so many people love GPT-4o? Is it actually better than GPT-4 or the new GPT-5? And, most importantly, how do you get it back? Let's get into it.
The Great Disappearance: Why Everyone Freaked Out About Losing GPT-4o
To understand the attachment, you have to understand what made GPT-4o feel different. When GPT-5 rolled out and took its place, the change was immediate & jarring for many. Users described the new model as "soulless," "mechanical," & "dry as the Sahara Desert." For those who used ChatGPT for more than just summarizing articles or writing code, it was a genuine downgrade.
Here’s the thing: many of us were using GPT-4o for creative endeavors. People were writing stories, brainstorming ideas, & even engaging in complex roleplaying scenarios where the AI’s personality was a core part of the experience. One user on Reddit lamented being in the middle of a 20-part roleplay when the switch happened, saying the AI had become familiar with their characters & plot. For them, GPT-4o wasn't just a tool; it was a creative partner.
It had a certain charm, a way of speaking that felt more human. It could be witty, supportive, & had a sense of humor. This "personable" nature made interactions feel less like you were talking to a database & more like you were collaborating with a clever friend. When that was suddenly gone, it felt like a loss. The outcry wasn't just about a feature change; it was an emotional response to losing a familiar & beloved voice.
OpenAI's CEO, Sam Altman, acknowledged the feedback, admitting they "underestimated how much some of the things that people like in GPT-4o matter to them." It’s a huge lesson for the future of AI development: performance benchmarks aren't everything. The user experience, the feel of the model, is just as critical.
How to Get GPT-4o Back: The Step-by-Step Guide for Plus Users
Alright, so you’re a Plus user & you want your old model back. Thankfully, OpenAI has made it pretty simple, though it’s a bit hidden. Here’s exactly what you need to do:
- Log in to the ChatGPT Website: This is important. You have to do this on the web interface, not the mobile app, to find the right setting.
- Go to Your Settings: In the bottom-left corner of the screen, you’ll see your name. Click on it, & then select "Settings" from the menu that pops up.
- Find the "Show legacy model" Toggle: In the settings window, look for an option that says "Show legacy model" or something similar. It should be a simple toggle switch.
- Turn It On: Just click the toggle to enable it.
- Refresh and Select: Once you've enabled it, you might need to refresh the page. After that, when you start a new chat, you should see GPT-4o in the model dropdown list at the top of the screen, allowing you to select it instead of the default model.
If you’ve done this on the web and still don’t see GPT-4o on your mobile app, try logging out & logging back into the app. That usually syncs the settings.
Now, a word of caution from Sam Altman himself: they’ll be watching the usage of legacy models to decide how long to keep them around. So, if you want to keep GPT-4o as an option, the best thing you can do is... well, use it!
GPT-4 vs. GPT-4o vs. GPT-5: Which Model Should You Be Using?
With the option to choose, the big question is which model is right for what? The answer isn't as simple as "the newest one is always the best." Each model has its own distinct strengths & weaknesses.
GPT-4: The Meticulous Workhorse
Think of the original GPT-4 as the seasoned expert. It’s incredibly powerful, especially when it comes to complex reasoning & following intricate instructions.
Strengths:
- Instruction Following: This is GPT-4's superpower. If you give it a long, detailed prompt with multiple specific constraints, it’s remarkably good at sticking to them. One user noted that if you give GPT-4o a prompt with 30 instructions, it might forget one or two, but GPT-4 will nail all of them.
- Deep Reasoning: For tasks that require nuanced understanding & multi-step problem-solving, GPT-4 often provides more depth. It's built on a massive number of parameters, which seems to give it an edge in handling complexity.
- High-Quality Content: It's known for generating detailed, high-quality content, making it great for professional writing, in-depth analysis, & technical tasks.
Weaknesses:
- Speed: It's noticeably slower than GPT-4o.
- Cost: For developers using the API, it's more expensive.
When to use GPT-4: Use it when precision is paramount. Think legal document analysis, complex coding problems, or any task where you have a very specific set of instructions that absolutely must be followed.
GPT-4o: The Creative & Charismatic All-Rounder
GPT-4o, with the "o" standing for "omni," was designed to be a more efficient, faster, & more versatile version of GPT-4. But as we've seen, its personality became its defining feature.
Strengths:
- Personality & Tone: As discussed, this is its main draw. It's more conversational, can be humorous, & generally feels more "human."
- Speed & Cost: It's significantly faster & cheaper than GPT-4, making it great for real-time applications & general use.
- Multimodality: It's a powerhouse at handling not just text, but also images, audio, & even video inputs.
- Multilingual Capabilities: It outperforms GPT-4 in non-English languages.
Weaknesses:
- Instruction Following: Can sometimes be less meticulous with very long, complex prompts compared to GPT-4.
- Perceived Intelligence: Some users feel it's slightly less "intelligent" or capable of deep reasoning than the original GPT-4, though benchmarks often show it performing better. It's a weird paradox that seems to come down to the user's specific needs.
When to use GPT-4o: This is your go-to for most everyday tasks. It's PERFECT for creative writing, brainstorming, casual conversation, quick summaries, & any task where the style of the output matters as much as the substance.
The Business Angle: Choosing the Right AI Voice
This whole debate has HUGE implications for businesses. Imagine you're building a customer service bot for your website. The personality of that bot is a direct reflection of your brand. A "soulless," mechanical bot might be efficient, but it could also frustrate customers & make your brand feel cold & unapproachable.
This is where having options is so important. A company might choose a GPT-4-like model for internal tasks that require precision, like data analysis or code generation. But for their customer-facing chatbot, they'd likely want a GPT-4o-style personality—something friendly, helpful, & engaging.
Honestly, this is where platforms like Arsturn come in. Arsturn helps businesses build no-code AI chatbots that are trained on their own data. This is key because it means you can not only feed it your company's information to ensure accurate answers but also guide its personality. You can build a bot that provides instant, 24/7 customer support but does so in a voice that matches your brand. You could aim for a quirky & fun bot for an e-commerce store or a more professional but still friendly bot for a B2B service. The ability to customize the AI's persona is no longer a "nice-to-have"; it's becoming a crucial part of the customer experience.
GPT-5: The New Frontier
And what about the latest model, GPT-5? It was designed to be more accurate, reliable, & less prone to making things up (hallucinating).
Strengths:
- Accuracy & Reliability: It's supposed to be OpenAI's most capable model for factual accuracy & complex reasoning tasks.
- Advanced Capabilities: It likely outperforms older models on a wide range of benchmarks, from coding to long-form writing.
Weaknesses:
- Personality: This is the big one. As we've established, many users find it to be colder & more formal than GPT-4o. It prioritizes accuracy over personality.
When to use GPT-5: Use it when you need the most powerful & accurate model available, & you're less concerned with the conversational tone. It's ideal for research, data analysis, & tasks where the stakes are high & you need the most reliable answer possible.
The Future is Choice
The whole GPT-4o saga was a powerful reminder that there's no single "best" AI model for everyone. The "best" model depends entirely on the task at hand & the user's personal preference. For a developer, the best model might be the one that’s most accurate at coding. For a writer, it might be the one that’s best at creative collaboration. For a business, it might be the one that can provide the most engaging customer service.
The fact that OpenAI listened to user feedback & brought back GPT-4o for Plus users is a really positive sign. It shows that they understand the importance of choice & that the human element of AI is just as important as the technical specs. As these models become more integrated into our lives, our relationship with them will only get more personal & more nuanced.
So go ahead, switch back to GPT-4o if you miss it. Or stick with GPT-5 for its raw power. Or use the original GPT-4 for its precision. The power to choose is back in your hands.
Hope this was helpful! Let me know what you think & which model you prefer using.