OpenAI's GPT-5 is here and free for all ChatGPT users

At long lastGPT-5 has arrived — and it's free to all ChatGPT users.

On ThursdayOpenAI launched what it describes as its smartest and fastest model yet during a livestream event. In a press briefingOpenAI CEO Sam Altman detailed the foundation model's capabilities. "GPT-3 sort of felt to me like talking to a high school student... GPT-4 felt like you're kind of talking to a college studentGPT-5 is the first time that it really feels like talking to an expert in any topic," said Altmanwho compared it to a "PhD level expert."

OpenAI says GPT-5 has improved expertise across codingmathsciencewritingand healthcare. Cruciallythe company also claims the new large language model has a lower hallucination rate than o3which was an unsettling 33 percent. But the key takeawayAltman saidis overall improvements in both obvious and subtle ways. "I tried going back to GPT-4and it was quite miserable," he said.

GPT-5 will roll out today to ChatGPT freeProand Plus usersbut is not yet available as of this writing. OpenAI says free users will have the strictest rate limitsand ChatGPT will fall back to a more lightweight model called GPT-5 mini after users hit their limits. Pro users will get higher rate limitsand Plus users will have unlimited use and access to an even more powerful model called GPT-5 Pro. OpenAI also launched three model sizes for API users: GPT-5GPT-5 miniand GPT-5 nano.

Let the testing begin.

This is a developing storyand we'll update this post as new information becomes available...

GPT-5 integrates OpenAI's tools into one interface

GPT-5 also delivers a new user experiencecombining multiple tools into one and expanding access to OpenAI's more advanced AI tools.

Users fatigued by the confusing model picker will no longer need to manually select the right model for a task. GPT-5 does away with that and combines reasoning capabilities from previous models into one unified experience. Head of ChatGPT Nick Turley underscored that this is the first time free users will have access to reasoningand "they don't have to think about itbecause GPT-5 just knows when to think."

"The vibes of this model are really goodand I think that people are really going to feel that," said Turley"especially average people who haven't been spending their time thinking about models."

Speaking of vibesOpenAI demoed a vibe-coding scenario where GPT-5 created a language-learning app with quizzes and gamesall from a short natural language prompt. "[GPT-5] really puts the power of beautiful and effective coding in everyone's hands," said Yann Duboisa GPT-5 researcher.

GPT-5 arrives after years of anticipation and rumored setbacks. It's been over two years since OpenAI launched GPT-4the large language model that gave the already-popular ChatGPT a turbo boost in capabilities and fueled commercial adoption of AI models. But the GPT-5 launch has been repeatedly delayed amidst reports that the OpenAI team was struggling to achieve performance gains significant enough to warrant an entirely new model.

What GPT-5 means for the future of the AI industry

ChatGPT is currently the most well-known AI chatbotwith 700 million weekly active usersaccording to OpenAI. This means OpenAI has an outsized impact on the industry as a whole. Mashable is just beginning to test GPT-5and we'll have more to share on its features and capabilities in the days and weeks ahead.

For nowit's too early to say if GPT-5 will silence AI criticswho say agentic AI tools have failed to meet expectations. Some AI experts also believe that scaling laws — improving AI models through sheer data and computing power — is hitting a wallsuggesting the current path to AGI is longer than what OpenAI claimsif it's even possible.

But Altman said scaling laws "absolutely still hold" in the briefing. "We keep finding new dimensions to scale onwe can still scale the pre-training beautifully and get huge returns," he said. "Obviouslywe have to invest in compute at like an-eye watering rate to get thatbut we intend to keep doing it."

Meanwhilea troubling new issue has emerged where users have experienced what's described as "ChatGPT psychosis" and worsening existing mental health issues. A more advanced model raises questions about how users will relate to it and OpenAI's responsibility to mitigate harmful interactions.

"We take these issues extremely seriously," said Turleywho highlighted new features announced this week for healthier ChatGPT use. Turley said OpenAI has been collaborating with mental health expertsmaking improvements on issues like emotional reliance and ChatGPT sycophancyand will have "a lot more to share soon."

UPDATE: Aug. 720252:00 PM EDT This article has been updated with additional information about the new GPT-5 models from OpenAI.

Disclosure: Ziff DavisMashable’s parent companyin April filed a lawsuit against OpenAIalleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.