Sam Altman details the plan for OpenAI’s GPT-5

Sam Altman announced free ChatGPT users will “get unlimited chat access to GPT-5.”
He said OpenAI is aiming to simplify its offerings by unifying models and removing the model picker.
GPT-4.5, called Orion, will be the last non-chain-of-thought model before GPT-5, Altman said.

Tired of keeping track of OpenAI’s chatbot models? In an effort to make things less “complicated,” the OpenAI CEO detailed the plan for GPT-4.5 and GPT-5 on X.

OPENAI ROADMAP UPDATE FOR GPT-4.5 and GPT-5:

We want to do a better job of sharing our intended roadmap, and a much better job simplifying our product offerings.

We want AI to “just work” for you; we realize how complicated our model and product offerings have gotten.

We hate…

— Sam Altman (@sama) February 12, 2025

“We hate the model picker as much as you do and want to return to magic unified intelligence,” Altman said in the post.

Altman is referring to the current system available on ChatGPT, which requires users to manually select various AI models for different tasks. For example, you can select GPT-4o to set reminders or GPT-4o mini, which operates faster for most queries. Other chatbots, like Google’s Gemini, have a similar setup offering varying models including Flash, Pro, or Pro with Deep Research.

ChatGPT has a number of models users can choose from.

screenshot/ChatGPT

The CEO said GPT-4.5, referred to as Orion, will launch as its final “non-chain-of-thought model.” Following the release of GPT-4.5, Altman said the company will unify o-series and GPT-series models by offering a system that can use all of its features and determine when to take more or less time to think. GPT-5 is expected to feature a larger context window, take on more agentic tasks, and have multimodal capabilities.

In response to an X comment asking about the timeline for the new models, Altman said they would be available in a matter of weeks or months.

Altman said OpenAI “will no longer ship o3 as a standalone model.” This change also means that free users will no longer be limited in chatting with the latest model. Currently, free users have limited access to GPT-4o.

“The free tier of ChatGPT will get unlimited chat access to GPT-5 at the standard intelligence setting (!!),” Altman wrote on Wednesday in a post on X, adding that access is “subject to abuse thresholds.”

Altman said Plus and Pro subscribers will get higher levels of access depending on their subscription tier. However, it’s not clear what will differentiate the tiers.

“These models will incorporate voice, canvas, search, deep research, and more,” Altman said.

OpenAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.