After a disastrous 72 hours that saw its most loyal users in open revolt, OpenAI is making a major U-turn.
In a series of posts on X (formerly Twitter) Sunday, CEO Sam Altman announced that the company is bringing back its beloved older AI models, including GPT-4o, and dramatically increasing usage limits for paying subscribers, a clear peace offering to a furious customer base.
The move comes just days after the botched rollout of GPT-5, the company’s latest and most powerful model. The launch, which should have been a triumph, instead sparked a firestorm.
A Botched Launch and a User Mutiny
On August 7, OpenAI launched GPT-5, presenting it as a “unified system” that would automatically route user queries to the best model for the job. In doing so, it removed the menu that allowed user