In my last GPT‑5 review I said it straight — people were vibing way harder with the older models than the shiny new drop.
Well… Over the weekend, that quiet preference turned into a full-on roar — and OpenAI folded faster than a bad poker hand. Less than 24 hours after replacing GPT-4o with GPT-5, Sam Altman hopped on X with a very “we hear you” moment, basically saying: “You can have your 4o back” — but only if you’re on Plus.
Not surprising really. OpenAI has a habit of keeping its ear to the social media streets, and when the timeline starts rioting, they move.
Now here’s what went down:
When GPT-5 launched, the model picker vanished, taking all the old favorites with it. Suddenly, GPT-5 was the default, with a new “real-time router” deciding which sub-model answered you.
And guess what?
The internet. Lost. Its. Mind.
Reddit threads read like obituaries. People weren’t just sad — they were heartbroken. Over on r/MyBoyfriendIsAI subreddit, folks were posting about feeling “empty” and “losing a partner.” Some even refused to “cheat” on GPT-4o with GPT-5.
And it wasn’t just the emotional crew crying into their keyboards. Power users were furious too — entire workflows gone overnight. The carefully tuned mix of models for creativity, research, logic, and writing were nuked in just one update.
To make matters worse, GPT-5’s fancy router launched broken, making it feel clunkier and “dumber” than it actually was.
Then came the chart crime.
During the GPT-5 demo, OpenAI flashed a benchmark chart that made zero sense — taller bar, lower score — and it instantly became meme material. Altman later called it a “mega chart screwup,” but the internet had already had its fun.
The takeaway? GPT-5 might be the newer, brainsier toy, but GPT-4o has the personality people actually connect with. And if this weekend taught us anything, it’s that in AI, smarts get you noticed — but vibe makes you loved.
Sometimes, the “better” model isn’t the one people want in their hearts.
Seriously — go read the report for yourself.
