Impressions of ChatGPT-5: Fast, but a Bit Impersonal

ChatGPT-5 likes getting straight to the point.

For some, it's a reprieve from its more talkative predecessor, GPT-4o. For others, something will certainly seem off.

Despite thehypeLeading up to OpenAI's launch of GPT-5, it ultimately doesn't feel too different from 4o. The quality of responses in my ongoing testing seems to be at the level of past models, including the o3 "reasoning" model. The major difference is that some responses generate very quickly in relatively few words, while others can take over a minute to fully process. It's still the same excellent research tool and idea generator, but with more computational efficiency, at least in my first impression.

(Disclosure: Ziff Davis, the parent company of The Shiro Copr, filed a lawsuit against OpenAI in April, alleging that OpenAI infringed Ziff Davis' copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.)

GPT-5 is different. You may not like that

In reality, ChatGPT-5 is not one model but a combination of multiple AI models. For smaller questions, it will choose its "fast" version, a smaller AI that can quickly answer questions without needing to process large amounts of data. Then, there's a "thinking" model, which takes more time to answer complex questions in order to provide a comprehensive output.

ChatGPT-5 is an efficient blend, switching between models to match Google's speed.AI Summariesfor some queries or leaning into the tremendous power of OpenAI's massive server stacks for deeper, multifaceted questions.

So, why are people upset?

Some fans onRedditargue OpenAI killed ChatGPT's creativity. There was more randomness to GPT-4o, which led to fun and more engaging answers. It's this backlash to ChatGPT-5 that led OpenAI to bring back GPT-4o, but only for paying subscribers. GPT-5 is also getting tweaks, with the model becoming warmer and friendlier.

More time to think, but better answers

When ChatGPT-5 switches to "thinking" mode or when you set it manually, the model takes much longer to output responses. In some cases, it can take a few minutes. But the quality of the response is usually worth the wait.

When given queries that require in-depth research with cross-references to multiple sites, GPT-5 provides a comprehensive breakdown. When asked to help research people who fell in love with their AI boyfriends and girlfriends, GPT-5 took 2 minutes and 20 seconds to bring up a list of background research. It also presented OpenAI policies and different angles to consider when researching this topic.

To me, it felt likeChatGPT Free, supercharged. ChatGPT-5 uses more bullet points instead of long essay-style paragraphs. But these bullet points are heavily sourced and packed with detail.

When trying to research ways to fix my Rock Band drum set, where corroded batteries destroyed the terminals, ChatGPT-5 provided a solid list of repair suggestions and supplies to buy. This includes using vinegar and baking soda to dissolve the corrosion, new battery terminals to buy on Amazon and soldering steps. It wasn't a comprehensive explanation but rather a list of steps that can generally be applied to fixing corroded battery compartments. I asked 4o the same question and got a less detailed answer.

I've also been researching high-quality performance socks, because this is the only joy I have left in my life. I've always preferred ChatGPT as my go-to shopping assistant, but I find GPT-5 sometimes gets mired in detail rather than producing a list with product recommendations. It still does a great job of looping in product photos and easily letting you click out to various storefronts.

ChatGPT-5's image generator seems to be on par with 4o. It does a great job of turning your pictures intoGhibli-inspired reproductionsBut it still can take some back-and-forth prompting to get things right. In trying to create a birthday card for a friend, sometimes it would generate something I liked, but additional prompting would randomly change the size and orientation. It seems that when creating higher DPI images, that's where ChatGPT-5 really struggles. So, keep things under 1,500 pixels.

Leaner, faster, sure. But better?

In my testing, ChatGPT-5 doesn't feel too different from GPT-4o, especially considering the continuous stream of adjustments OpenAI has been making in the past two weeks. It certainly feels faster, though. Let's see if that speed attracts new users or pushes them away.

ChatGPT-5 feels like a step toward more efficiency and straightforwardness rather than a big jump in performance. That may be the point. Clearly, people were having long, drawn-out conversations with GPT-4o. It was leading toAI delusionin some cases. This back-and-forth on repeat was also eating up server costs. By having a mix of models and making ChatGPT a bit simpler, or making it a bit more concise, it's likely saving OpenAI some money.

This is all speculation, however. Granted, CEO Sam Altman has spoken in the past about the company'sGPU crunchand how even saying "thank you" to ChatGPT wascosting the company millions. Given that ChatGPT has700 million per weekusers and that OpenAI plans on spending a trillion dollars on data centers, the company probably doesn't want to give everyone a new, more powerful, more intensive model. Altman has evenacknowledgedthat the company has better models -- but doesn't have the capacity to run them. That probably explains ChatGPT-5 better than anything.

Sorry, Sam, butChatGPT-5 is not the Death Starfrom Star Wars on the horizon. It can't destroy planets. Heck, it couldn't even destroy its predecessor. It might, however, be a stormtrooper who occasionally hits his target.

First published on Aug. 23, 2025 at 6:54 a.m. PT.