OpenAI has announced plans to retire several of its older ChatGPT models, marking another step in the company’s transition toward its newer generation of systems. The models affected include GPT-4o, GPT-4.1, GPT-4.1 mini, and o4-mini. The change will take effect on February 13, 2026.
The update was disclosed in a blog post published on Thursday, January 29, 2026, by OpenAI. The company clarified that the decision applies only to ChatGPT and does not involve any changes to its API offerings, which will continue to operate as before.
According to OpenAI, the retirement reflects significant progress made in its newer models, particularly GPT-5.1 and GPT-5.2. These improvements, the company said, have already driven a sharp shift in user behavior.
“We’re announcing the upcoming retirement of GPT-4o today because these improvements are now in place, and because the vast majority of usage has shifted to GPT-5.2, with only 0.1% of users still choosing GPT-4o each day,” the company explained.
OpenAI noted that most users have already migrated to GPT-5.2, leaving only a small fraction of daily activity on GPT-4o. Retiring older models, the company added, allows its teams to concentrate resources on improving the systems that are most widely used.
The GPT-5 series introduces a broader range of personalization features, including enhanced personality expression, stronger support for creative ideation, and more flexible response customization. Users can select base interaction styles, such as Friendly, and adjust factors like warmth and enthusiasm to better suit their preferences.
“Our goal is to give people more control and customization over how ChatGPT feels to use, not just what it can do,” OpenAI said.
The move underscores OpenAI’s strategy of streamlining its product lineup while deepening the user experience around its latest models.
