Technologies

After User Backlash, OpenAI Is Bringing Back Older ChatGPT Models

OpenAI touted GPT-5 as a new model for everything. However, some people still prefer the older versions.

OpenAI hoped to shrink the menu of generative AI models on its ChatGPT platform to just one with the release of its GPT-5 model this week. Not everyone was a fan.

Now CEO Sam Altman says the developer is looking at giving ChatGPT Plus subscribers the option to keep using the older 4o model.

Altman and other OpenAI leaders took questions on Reddit on Friday, a day after the announcement of the new GPT-5 model. A quick glance through the comments revealed how many users preferred how older models like GPT-4.1, GPT-4.5 and 4o handled writing and other tasks. Some said the other models seemed more friendly and conversational than GPT-5.

«BRING BACK 4o,» one user posted, «GPT-5 is wearing the skin of my dead friend.»

Another said GPT-5 is «short» and «cold» compared to GPT-4, adding, «It was terrible that this happened overnight with no other options.»

Altman, posting in the AMA, said OpenAI will look into making 4o or other models available for Plus users. Altman said «we hear you all on 4o» and that OpenAI will monitor usage to see how long to support 4o for Plus users.

The rollout of GPT-5 was «a little more bumpy than we hoped for,» Altman said. The program that decides whether a prompt will be handled by a faster, lighter model within GPT-5 or a more intensive reasoning model was not working for part of Thursday, he said. The rollout of GPT-5 to all users has also taken longer than expected.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for Aug. 11, #792

Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle for Aug. 11, #792.

Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s NYT Connections puzzle is a tough one. I grabbed on to «chocolate» and ran it through every connection I could with the other words, so I landed the purple category first, which is rare. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times now has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including the number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group, to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Regular.

Green group hint: Leave.

Blue group hint: Read the fine print of your labels.

Purple group hint: Not light, but …

Answers for today’s Connections groups

Yellow group: Ordinary

Green group: Abandon

Blue group: Specs on consumer packaging

Purple group: Dark ____

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is ordinary. The four answers are normal, plain, standard and vanilla.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is abandon. The four answers are desert, dump, maroon and strand.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is specs on consumer packaging. The four answers are count, measure, volume and weight.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is dark ____. The four answers are ages, chocolate, horse and matter.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for Aug. 11, #526

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for Aug. 11, No. 526.

Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Oof, today’s NYT Strands puzzle was really hard for me. It was hard to figure out the theme, hard to find the answers and hard to unscramble the letters. And one of the answers relates more to travel gifts in my head than to this puzzle’s theme. If you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: Find the remainder

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Most of it is gone but this remains.

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

REGS, DREG, TARE, STAR, STARE, RATE, CART, CARTE, TEAR, TEARS, RACE, DIVE, DIVED, SEER, NOSE, VOTE, RINSE.

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:

DREGS, TRACE, REMNANT, RESIDUE, VESTIGE, SOUVENIR

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is LEFTOVERS. To find it, look for the L that is three letters to the right on the bottom row, and wind up.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Sunday, Aug. 10

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Aug. 10

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Woo, my last name is in today’s Mini Crossword! «Cooper» is part of the clue for 3-Down. Did I get that answer? Nope! I had to let the other clues fill it in. But that said, today’s puzzle isn’t too tough, even if your last name isn’t featured. Need answers? Read on. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

The Mini Crossword is just one of many games in the Times’ games collection. If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.