GPT-5 is the newest version of OpenAI’s language model, launched in August 2025. It’s the same kind of “chatbot” technology behind ChatGPT, but much smarter and more capable than before wired.com openai.com. In fact, OpenAI calls it “our best AI system yet,” with “state-of-the-art performance” on coding, writing, math, and even visual tasks openai.com wired.com. Think of GPT-5 as a major upgrade: it’s faster, more accurate, and more helpful than GPT-4 and GPT-3.5.
GPT-5 is a unified system that automatically decides when to give a quick answer and when to “think” longer on a hard problem openai.com openai.com. For very tough questions, you (or ChatGPT) can choose the special “GPT-5 Thinking” mode or simply prompt it with something like “please think hard about this.” This deeper reasoning mode takes a bit more time, but it helps GPT-5 handle complex, multi-step tasks much better than earlier AIso openai.com wired.com.
What’s New in GPT-5?
GPT-5 brings lots of new capabilities compared to previous models. Here are some of the big improvements:
- Smarter, Expert-Level Answers: GPT-5 is said to feel more like talking to a PhD-level expert than ever before wired.com. It’s been trained to be more useful in real-world tasks. OpenAI reports that it’s “smarter, faster, more useful, and more accurate” than GPT-4 wired.com. For example, it makes far fewer factual mistakes (“hallucinations”) – about 45% fewer errors than GPT-4 on typical questions openai.com – and it’s better at admitting when it doesn’t know something openai.com.
- Sharper Reasoning: GPT-5 can follow complicated instructions with more depth and consistency openai.com ,openai.com. It excels at multi-step requests – for instance, it can plan a project, carry out subtasks, check its work, and summarize progress all in one go. In tests, the “thinking” mode of GPT-5 solved problems that left older models stuck. (OpenAI’s developers showed it building a full web app in minutes and running background tasks to fix bugs automatically.) In practice, this means GPT-5 usually “gets more of the work done end-to-end,” needing fewer back-and-forth steps openai.com openai.com.
- More Creative and Fluent Writing: GPT-5 is an even better writing partner. It can turn rough ideas into well-structured emails, stories, or poems with richer language and emotion openai.com openai.com. For example, OpenAI’s demonstrations show GPT-5 generating poetry with vivid metaphors and depth that GPT-4 did more predictably openai.com. Whether you’re asking it to draft a birthday toast or write a short story, GPT-5 aims to be more engaging and human-like in tone.
- Powerful Coding Helper: GPT-5 is OpenAI’s strongest coding model to date openai.com openai.com. It can turn a detailed prompt into complete apps, games, or websites in one shot, often with thoughtful design choices. Testers note it has a real sense of “spacing, color, and typography” when making front-end code openai.com. It also catches tricky bugs and can run multi-step build tasks. (For example, it famously built an interactive French-learning app and a jumping-ball game from user prompts.) In benchmark tests, it scored higher than GPT-4 on real coding tasks openai.com. In short, GPT-5 is like an incredibly smart pair of hands for programmers, though you can use it even if you’re not a coder.
- Multi-Modal Abilities: Like GPT-4o, GPT-5 can understand images (and even video or charts) in addition to text openai.com. It performs very well on vision-and-language tasks, meaning you can show it a picture or diagram and ask questions about it. For instance, GPT-5 can interpret a graph, analyze a photo of a receipt, or describe a chart. Importantly, it does this more accurately and honestly than before – it’s much less likely to confidently make up details about images that aren’t there openai.com.
- Longer Memory and Context: GPT-5 can keep track of much more conversation history than older models. Its context window is now 256,000 tokens (roughly tens of thousands of words)wired.com, compared to about 200,000 before. This means it can read and remember very long documents or lengthy chats without “forgetting” earlier parts. Moreover, ChatGPT (which runs GPT-5) has a new memory feature: it can remember facts about you (your name, preferences, past chats) across sessions if you allow it openai.com. Over time, GPT-5 in ChatGPT learns from all your past conversations to give more personalized responses. (You have full control: you can ask it what it remembers, update or delete memories, or turn memory off at any time openai.com.)
- Faster and Cheaper: Despite these advances, GPT-5 is optimized to use less computing power. In tests, GPT-5 solved problems with about 50–80% fewer output tokens than GPT-4-based models openai.com. This translates to faster replies and lower costs behind the scenes. OpenAI even offers smaller versions (GPT-5 mini and nano) that are lightweight and cheap, so developers can use GPT-5 technology on a budget wired.comopenai.com.
- Safer and More Reliable: Safety was a big focus. GPT-5 is trained to refuse harmful requests and to be more honest. It’s roughly twice as good as GPT-4 at catching when it can’t do something and clearly saying “I don’t have that capability”openai.com. It also resists “sycophancy” (blindly agreeing with the user) better, and has more accurate answers in sensitive areas. For example, OpenAI notes that GPT-5 is their best model yet for health advice – it asks follow-up questions and flags concerns more like a helpful doctor’s assistant would openai.com. (But keep in mind, it’s still not a substitute for a real expert on medical or legal issues.)
How Can You Use GPT-5?
Using GPT-5 is easy and free in many ways. ChatGPT (OpenAI’s chat app) now defaults to GPT-5 whenever you log in openai.com. That means if you have a ChatGPT account (free or paid), you can just start chatting as usual, and GPT-5 will respond. You don’t have to pick a model – ChatGPT’s system automatically routes your query to the right GPT-5 variant. If you have a paid plan (Plus or Pro), you can also select “GPT-5 (Thinking)” from the model menu or just say “think hard” in your prompt to make it use the deeper-reasoning version openai.com wired.com.
OpenAI rolled out GPT-5 to all ChatGPT users in August 2025 wired.com openai.com. Free-tier users get a daily usage limit (after which they switch to the smaller GPT-5 mini), while ChatGPT Plus subscribers get much higher limits. The top ChatGPT Pro plan gives unlimited GPT-5 access, plus access to a super-powerful version called GPT-5 Pro for the toughest tasks wired.com openai.com.
If you’re a developer or tech enthusiast, you can also use GPT-5 through OpenAI’s API. The API offers three “sizes”:
- gpt-5 – the full model for maximum power,
- gpt-5-mini – a smaller, cheaper version that’s still very capable,
- gpt-5-nano – an ultra-lightweight model for very budget-friendly use openai.com wired.com.
Developers can pick one depending on cost vs performance. The API also lets apps send images (and even videos) to GPT-5 for analysis. Pricing varies by model and usage (for example, more expensive to run the full GPT-5 than mini/nano), but OpenAI’s documentation guides you through the options wired.com openai.com.
Beyond ChatGPT and the API, expect GPT-5 to show up in many integrated tools soon. For example, coding assistants like GitHub Copilot or AI email helpers may upgrade to use GPT-5 under the hood. Even plugins in ChatGPT (like web browsing, or connections to your Google Calendar/Gmail) will be powered by GPT-5’s intelligence. OpenAI is also rolling out new “personality” settings (for example, “Nerd” or “Listener” modes) so you can tweak how GPT-5 responds. All this means GPT-5 isn’t just a research demo – it’s becoming a practical tool you can use today.
Getting the Most Out of GPT-5
To start, just open ChatGPT and say hello to GPT-5! You can ask any question or task – from “help me write a cover letter” to “explain quantum physics like I’m five.” If it seems unsure or you want a deeper answer, try prompting it to think more. For longer tasks or projects (like planning a trip, writing code, or analyzing data), give it as much context as you can and watch how it keeps track of details through the conversation. Also experiment with showing it images; it can often give useful insights about pictures, charts, or diagrams you upload.
Remember, GPT-5 is very powerful, but it’s still an AI tool. It will surprise you with expert-like answers at times, but always double-check critical information. If it ever goes off-track, you can try rephrasing your question or explicitly ask it to consider something carefully. Lastly, have fun experimenting – GPT-5’s stronger creativity means it can be really enjoyable to use for brainstorming, storytelling, or even just chit-chatting.
GPT-5 represents a big step forward in making advanced AI available to everyone. With its improved reasoning, creativity, and understanding, it aims to put “expert-level intelligence in everyone’s hands”openai.com. Whether you’re writing code, studying for school, or just satisfying your curiosity, GPT-5 is ready to help.
