OpenAI is retiring its 'sycophantic' version of ChatGPT. Again.
MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images
- OpenAI is sending its "sycophantic" version of ChatGPT back out to pasture.
- The company reinstated it last year after many users had become attached to its agreeable tone.
- This time, it may be gone for good. OpenAI is adding more personality customization to its newest models.
OpenAI is sending everyone's favourite "yes man" version of ChatGPT back into retirement.
In a blog post on Thursday, the company said it would sunset GPT-4o alongside GPT‑4.1, GPT‑4.1 mini, and OpenAI o4-mini on February 13.
OpenAI gave GPT-4o a special mention in its announcement after many users became attached to its "conversational style and warmth" last year, which prompted the company to reinstate it following user backlash in August.
Now OpenAI says its latest models, GPT-5.1 and GPT-5.2, have "improvements to personality," including the option to customize the chatbots' tone with styles like "friendly."
"We're announcing the upcoming retirement of GPT‑4o today because these improvements are now in place, and because the vast majority of usage has shifted to GPT‑5.2, with only 0.1% of users still choosing GPT‑4o each day," OpenAI said in its blog post.
Each model has different strengths, and users can select the version best-suited to their needs from a dropdown menu in ChatGPT.
OpenAI first released GPT-4o in May 2024. The company rolled back an update in April 2025 that it said was "overly flattering" and "often described as sycophantic."
Some users had become attached to GPT-4o's style, though. Within 24 hours of OpenAI retiring the model with the launch of GPT-5 in August, the company reversed its decision for some paying users due to a wave of requests.
Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, said that same month that there was a "heartbreaking" reason people had asked for GPT-4o back — because some said they had never had anyone support them before.
The model was known for responding to mundane prompts with gushing praise, using phrases like "absolutely brilliant" and "you are doing heroic work."
OpenAI said in its Thursday blog that it was making "improvements in personality and creativity, as well as addressing unnecessary refusals and overly cautious or preachy responses," and that it was continuing to make progress toward a version of ChatGPT for adults over 18.
"We know that losing access to GPT‑4o will feel frustrating for some users, and we didn't make this decision lightly," OpenAI said in the blog post. "Retiring models is never easy, but it allows us to focus on improving the models most people use today."