How to Bring Back GPT-4o in ChatGPT
When OpenAI released GPT-5 last week, they advertised it as their best AI model yet. In fact, the company seemed so confident in its new model, it unceremoniously deprecated all other models from ChatGPT, including the fan-favorite GPT-4o. Who would miss 4o, when GPT-5 was "better" at just about everything?
The answer, it seems, was "a lot of people." Users took to social media and forums to complain, even grieve, the loss of GPT-4o. Some missed its personality over GPT-5's, while others thought the new models wasn't as good for creative writing. What surprised me most, and I imagine surprised OpenAI as well, was the number of people who had formed emotional attachments to the model. These people were not invested in ChatGPT, but 4o, and to lose it was to lose a friend, or even a romantic partner. (That's a conversation for a different time.)
The point is, GPT-5 was not the omnimodel that OpenAI thought it would be, and users across the board were displeased. So, the company brought it back. The day after the big GPT-5 reveal, Sam Altman announced that Plus users would be able to continue using GPT-4o for the time being. (Team, Enterprise, and Edu users also have 4o access, as well as other legacy models.)
That should be good news to ChatGPT subscribers, though you might not know it just by opening the app. When I launch ChatGPT on my iPhone, for example, I only have the option to pick GPT-5 or GPT-5 Thinking, not GPT-4o. Despite Altman promising the model's return on Friday, it still hasn't hit my app. What gives?
You need to change a setting to bring back 4o
As it turns out, OpenAI isn't just rolling out GPT-4o to all Plus users automatically. If you want 4o, you need to seek it out, and, at this time, that means changing a setting on the ChatGPT website.
To do it, head to chatgpt.com, and log into your account if you're not logged in already. Next, click your profile in the bottom right, and choose Settings. Under General, look for the option "Show legacy models," and enable the toggle to its right.
While this will bring back 4o access to your web app immediately, it might not be instant for your ChatGPT apps. According to MacRumors, it can take a few minutes for 4o to reappear.
Disclosure: Ziff Davis, (Lifehacker’s) parent company, in April filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.