ZDNET’s key takeaways
- OpenAI’s GPT-5 will attempt to solve a common ChatGPT problem.
- It should automatically pick the best model for your prompt.
- Delays in rolling out are the result of how challenging it is to build.
OpenAI has been at the forefront of the AI race since its initial launch of ChatGPT in 2022, consistently releasing new products, models, and updates. That also means that it’s difficult to keep track of new product launches — but GPT-5 is one you’ll want to keep an eye out for. Here’s why.
Also: OpenAI teases imminent GPT-5 launch. Here’s what to expect
When OpenAI CEO Sam Altman In February, he teased GPT-5 and gave a sneak peek at its best feature: the ability for you to choose the best model that will automatically answer your queries. This will be achieved by combining the o-series of reasoning models that produce better-quality answers with the GPT series models which are faster and eliminate guesswork from the user. Nick Turley, the Head of ChatGPT, spoke to ZDNET about
“The plan is to unify all of these ideas into something like GPT-5 such that you just ask it a question and it needs to think of things, very much like when you talk to a human; sometimes it will think before responding, sometimes it will respond immediately, sometimes it’ll respond and keep thinking,” . How will this make life easier for you?
There is no secret that OpenAI models on the market sound like an alphabet soup. Models like GPT-4o or o4 are similar in sound but each one is best suited for different tasks. It is difficult to remember which model to use, even though the right model can make all the difference. Turley said
“Our goal is that the average person does not need to think about which model to use,” . GPT-5 is designed to automatically select the best model based on the user’s task.
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If a question is easy enough for the GPT model to answer, then GPT-5 would choose that as it will be cheaper and faster. GPT-5 will use other models to provide a more in-depth approach for questions that are more complex, such as STEM prompts.
Power-users will still have the option to choose which models they want to use.
Timeline.
Altman initially said GPT-5 would release in the weeks or even months following the announcement of February. In April, Altman announced that the release of GPT-5 would be further postponed because it was so difficult to develop. Turley said
“It actually turns out to be quite nuanced in terms of how people’s preferences fall, where you know you’d maybe be willing to wait for a longer period of time to get a good answer, but only if it was a lot better,” . “Which is why we’ve taken our time to get it right.”
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GPT-5 will combine all the latest ChatGPT functions, including “voice, canvas, search, deep research, and more,” as stated in Altman’s post. This would allow users to take advantage of all the features that ChatGPT offers, including those less-known but powerful features like canvas, which is one of my favorites.
Despite the challenges, you shouldn’t have to wait much longer. A report from The Vergereported that GPT-5 would be released in early August, citing sources. Turley added
“The goal is very much what we announced, and we’ll have a lot more to share soon,” .
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