OpenAI, a popular AI company known as the father of ChatGPT, is officially retiring its GPT-4o from the chatbot, along with a handful of other older AI models. The company has posted the news on its website and set the date for February 13, 2026—so, yeah, there is still a while before these models disappear.
Here’s the list on the chopping block
- GPT-4o and both versions of GPT-5 (Instant and Thinking),
- GPT-4.1,
- GPT-4.1 mini,
- OpenAI o4-mini.
But just to be clear, nothing changes right now if you are using their APIs.
Journey of GPT-4o
GPT-4o has had a bit of a rollercoaster ride. It launched in May 2024 and quickly built a fanbase because of its friendly, warm style. Then, in August, OpenAI swapped it out for GPT-5. That didn’t go over well—users complained loudly, and OpenAI had to bring GPT-4o back. They even admitted that a lot of Plus and Pro users leaned on GPT-4o for brainstorming and loved how natural it felt.
Why is GPT-4o ending now?
OpenAI says hardly anyone picks GPT-4o these days—just 0.1 per cent of users on any given day. GPT-5.2 pretty much runs the show now. By dropping the older models, OpenAI says it can put more energy into making the stuff people actually use better.
The company isn’t ignoring the people who liked GPT-4o’s vibe. After the backlash, they rolled out new features in their latest models, like “Friendly” mode and sliders that let you tweak tone and enthusiasm. These updates are supposed to help people get that same welcoming chat experience, just with newer tech under the hood.
Sam Altman’s warning to users!
One last thing—OpenAI’s CEO, Sam Altman, promised everyone would get plenty of warning before GPT-4o was retired for good. Now, with a firm date set for 2026, users have lots of time to make the switch and get used to the latest ChatGPT models.
