ChatGPT, OpenAI’s text-generating AI chatbot, has taken the world by storm since its launch in November 2022. What started as a tool to supercharge productivity through writing essays and code with short text prompts has evolved into a behemoth with 300 million weekly active users.
2024 was a big year for OpenAI, from its partnership with Apple for its generative AI offering, Apple Intelligence, the release of GPT-4o with voice capabilities, and the highly-anticipated launch of its text-to-video model Sora.
OpenAI also faced its share of internal drama, including the notable exits of high-level execs like co-founder and longtime chief scientist Ilya Sutskever and CTO Mira Murati. OpenAI has also been hit with lawsuits from Alden Global Capital-owned newspapers alleging copyright infringement, as well as an injunction from Elon Musk to halt OpenAI’s transition to a for-profit.
In 2025, OpenAI is battling the perception that it’s ceding ground in the AI race to Chinese rivals like DeepSeek. The company has been trying to shore up its relationship with Washington as it simultaneously pursues an ambitious data center project, and as it reportedly lays the groundwork for one of the largest funding rounds in history.
Below, you’ll find a timeline of ChatGPT product updates and releases, starting with the latest, which we’ve been updating throughout the year. If you have any other questions, check out our ChatGPT FAQ here.
To see a list of 2024 updates, go here.
Timeline of the most recent ChatGPT updates
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August 2025
OpenAI keeps multiple GPT models despite GPT-5 launch
Despite unveiling GPT-5 as a “one-size-fits-all” AI, OpenAI is still offering several legacy AI options, including GPT-4o, GPT-4.1, and o3. Users can choose between new “Auto,” “Fast,” and “Thinking” modes for GPT-5, and paid subscribers regain access to legacy models like GPT-4o and GPT-4.1.
Updates to ChatGPT:You can now choose between “Auto”, “Fast”, and “Thinking” for GPT-5. Most users will want Auto, but the additional control will be useful for some people.Rate limits are now 3,000 messages/week with GPT-5 Thinking, and then extra capacity on GPT-5 Thinking…— Sam Altman (@sama) August 13, 2025
Sam Altman addresses GPT-5 glitches and ‘chart crime’ during Reddit AMA
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman told Reddit users that GPT-5’s “dumber” behavior at launch was due to a router issue and promised fixes, double rate limits for Plus users, and transparency on which model is answering, while also shrugging off the infamous “chart crime” from the live presentation.
OpenAI unveils GPT-5, a smarter, task-ready ChatGPT
OpenAI released GPT-5, a next-gen AI that’s not just smarter but more useful — able to handle tasks like coding apps, managing calendars, and creating research briefs — while automatically figuring out the fastest or most thoughtful way to answer your questions.
OpenAI offers ChatGPT Enterprise to federal agencies for just $1
OpenAI is making a major push into federal government workflows, offering ChatGPT Enterprise to agencies for just $1 for the next year. The move comes after the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) added OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic to its approved AI vendor list, allowing agencies to access these tools through preset contracts without negotiating pricing.
OpenAI returns to open source with new AI models
OpenAI unveiled its first open source language models since GPT-2, introducing two new open-weight AI releases: gpt-oss-120b, a high-performance m …