Recently, it looks like there’s a brand new ChatGPT model popping up each different day. There’s GPT-4o, the all-rounder, o3, the deep thinker, some speedy “mini” fashions that nobody is aware of what they do, GPT-4.5 for inventive writing, and some legacy variations you in all probability would need to keep away from. So if you happen to’ve ever puzzled which ChatGPT model to choose on your task- you aren’t alone! Even specialists wrestle to determine which ChatGPT model to make use of and when.
However a number of days again Andrej Karpathy made his opinions clear! On this information, I’ll stroll you thru Andrej Karpathy’s recommendations and preferences concerning every ChatGPT model so you’ll find the one which fits you greatest.
ChatGPT Variations
ChatGPT at present presents three completely different subscriptions, every with its personal set of ChatGPT variations which you can entry. Here’s a breakdown of it:
| Kind of Subscription | ChatGPT variations |
|---|---|
| Free | GPT‑4.1 mini (limitless), GPT‑4o, o4-mini (restricted) |
| Plus ($20/month) | GPT-4o, o3, o4-mini, o4-mini-high, GPT‑4.5, GPT‑4.1, GPT‑4.1-mini |
| Professional ($200/month) | GPT-4o, o3, o4-mini, o4-mini-high, GPT‑4.5, GPT‑4.1, GPT‑4.1-mini, o1 professional mode |
Most of those variations carry one thing distinctive and are specialised for various duties. Utilizing a single mannequin for your whole duties is a factor of the previous after we didn’t have the choices. Now it’s about utilizing the correct mannequin for every process. However not all fashions are price it and a few of them are simply to be ignored – at the least that’s what’s Andrej Karparthy’s opinion.
Let’s break down his evaluation of all of the ChatGPT variations.
Decoding ChaGPT Fashions with Andrej Karpathy
Andrej Karpathy is a well known AI researcher recognized for his work in deep studying and pc imaginative and prescient. Final week he shared his ideas on numerous LLMs that ChatGPT has to supply.
GPT-4o
“Use this mannequin for something straightforward and quick. It’s nice for normal duties”
– Andrej Karparthy
GPT-4o is essentially the most dependable mannequin below the ChatGPT hood. The mannequin is designed to offer a stability between pace and accuracy. It handles all kinds of duties with nice ease and coherence, making it perfect for many of our day-to-day duties. Whether or not you’ll want to whip up an e mail, write a weblog put up, or reply a normal question, GPT-4o has your again.
Which duties to make use of GPT-4o for?
- Writing emails, social media posts, and blogs
- Answering FAQs or normal information questions
- Gentle coding help like easy operate technology or debugging
- Summarizing articles or paperwork
- Informal dialog and brainstorming
The place it struggles: It’s much less efficient for deeply advanced reasoning or duties requiring multi-step logic and precision, the place specialised fashions carry out higher.
My take: GPT-4o is the perfect default mannequin for many customers – quick, versatile, and dependable. It’s the go-to alternative for on a regular basis AI help.
o3
“Use this mannequin for something onerous and necessary. The mannequin is sluggish however tremendous clever”
– Andrej Karparthy
Now, o3 is the “thinker” within the ChatGPT mannequin household. This mannequin is optimized for superior reasoning and complicated problem-solving. It trades pace for intelligence, giving detailed responses on duties that require multi-step pondering or complete evaluation. So when you’ve got a difficult doc to assessment Or perhaps only a troublesome maths downside or equation, this mannequin takes its time to dig deep and course of onerous and give you precise options.
Which duties to make use of o3 for?
- Authorized doc evaluation and contract assessment
- Complicated scientific analysis and information evaluation
- Debugging and explaining sophisticated code
- Writing detailed technical or tutorial studies
- Duties requiring crucial, step-by-step reasoning
The place it struggles: The mannequin presents slower response instances and better compute necessities making it much less appropriate for fast, informal duties or large-scale manufacturing environments the place pace is crucial.
My take: Use o3 when accuracy and depth matter greater than pace. It’s the heavy hitter for robust, necessary issues.
o3 Professional
o3 Professional is the most recent addition to the ChatGPT household. This model guarantees extra computational energy than its counterpart o3 with increased accuracy for advanced queries. This model of ChatGPT comes with higher device integration and thus is able to offering extra relabible responses for internet searches and file evaluation. In comparison with o3 it’s sluggish, but when pitied in opposition to different high reasoning mode, o3 Professional performs quick. So when you’ve got a process that requires breaking down of advanced duties, in depth evaluation of code or maths – the mannequin may also help however its advisable to validate its responses because the mannequin largely looks like a hald baked cookie.
Which duties to make use of o3 Professional for?
- Multi step code synthesis or Python execution
- Doc summarization and audit compliance
- Picture or doc evaluation
- Strategising long run enterprise objectives
- Searchhing throughout completely different on-line platforms
The place is struggles: The mannequin struggles with accuracy and correct reasoning when coping with multi-pronged issues.
My take: The mannequin can be utilized for non-critical information evaluation duties or in areas the place you need a fast response for a barely troublesome process.
Additionally Learn: OpenAI o3 professional vs Gemini 2.5 professional
o4-mini
“Don’t use this mannequin”
– Andrej Karparthy
This mannequin was launched to carry superior reasoning at a extremely quick pace and that’s precisely the place issues get tough. The mannequin can generate solutions rapidly but it surely tends to provide much less dependable and largely incoherent outcomes. Its pace could be a bonus but it surely doesn’t outweigh the hallucinations and inaccuracy. All of this makes it unsuitable for skilled or severe use.
Which duties to make use of o4-mini for?
- Experimental tasks the place pace issues greater than correctness like for vibe coding.
- Informal or non-critical testing and play like for designing youngsters’s video games.
The place it struggles: The mannequin produces inconsistent, inaccurate, or incomplete solutions, particularly on technical or factual queries.
My take: Regardless of its pace, I cannot suggest it as a consequence of poor reliability. It’s higher to decide on a slower however extra dependable mannequin.
o4-mini-high
“Don’t use this mannequin”
– Andrej Karparthy
The mannequin is a twin to o4-mini in relation to efficiency. That’s the reason just like the o4-mini, the o4-mini-high mannequin comes with speedy outputs with higher coding and visible reasoning capabilities. Nonetheless, this mannequin too has the basic problems with poor reliability and high quality. The pace comes at the price of accuracy leading to incorrect code recommendations or flawed reasoning. Until you might be testing experimental options casually, it’s best to keep away from this mannequin for crucial work.
Which duties to make use of o4-mini-high for?
- Fast, tough coding or visible reasoning demos (e.g., exhibiting an idea in a hackathon or workshop)
- AI experiments the place pace trumps correctness (e.g., playful AI-based video games or chatbots)
The place it struggles: The mannequin presents decrease output high quality and reliability; susceptible to errors and hallucinations.
My take: I cannot advise utilizing this mannequin for severe duties, it’s solely okay for informal taking part in.
o1 Professional Mode
“Don’t use this mannequin”
– Andrej Karparthy
o1 Professional is the grandfather for the reasoning fashions. As soon as thought of an skilled reasoning mannequin, o1 Professional Mode is now largely outdated. The mannequin obtainable solely within the Professional model, is basically inaccessible for a lot of. It faces robust competitors from many new fashions by Gemini and Deepseek that present higher outcomes at a a lot decrease price. Though it could possibly nonetheless produce considerate solutions, its slower pace and outdated structure make it much less interesting for many present purposes.
Which duties to make use of o1 Professional for?
- Operating legacy tasks that require backward compatibility (e.g., sustaining older AI workflows)
- Not advisable for brand new or crucial duties
The place it struggles: Slower pace, decrease accuracy in comparison with newer fashions, and lacking the most recent options.
My take: Its time to say goodbye and transfer on to raised, quicker choices.
GPT-4.1
“Use this mannequin for vibe coding”
– Andrej Karparthy
For the coders and techies, GPT-4.1 is a helpful sidekick. The mannequin is made for speedy and efficient coding help. It’s optimized to generate code snippets, debug scripts, and help coders effectively. It produces an excellent stability between pace and contextual understanding, enabling quick iteration throughout improvement. Whereas it might not match o3’s reasoning depth, it gives sensible coding assist that’s perfect for day-to-day programming duties.
Which duties to make use of GPT-4.1 for?
- Writing, debugging, or explaining code snippets
- Speedy prototyping throughout software program improvement (e.g., producing boilerplate code)
- Studying programming ideas or getting fast code examples.
The place it struggles: In duties involving advanced or deeply analytical duties outdoors coding.
My take: Nice for builders who need swift, strong help on their coding journey.
GPT-4.1-mini
“Don’t use this mannequin”
– Andrej Karparthy
The mini model of GPT-4.1 guarantees pace however falls brief on high quality and coherence. It typically produces poorer high quality and fewer dependable outputs than its counterparts of comparable sizes. Like different mini fashions, it’s higher suited to experimentation or informal use moderately than severe tasks.
Which duties to make use of GPT-4.1-mini for?
- Informal or low-stakes experiments (e.g., testing fundamental chatbot responses)
- Fast, casual queries that don’t require detailed solutions
The place it struggles: In duties requiring excessive output high quality higher contextual understanding.
My take: Follow the total GPT-4.1 if you would like respectable assist.
GPT-4.5 (Analysis Preview)
“Use this mannequin for inventive writing”
– Andrej Karparthy
GPT-4.5 mannequin places “artwork” in “Sensible”. The mannequin is appropriate for inventive writing and ideation. It excels at producing imaginative and engaging content material, making it good fo duties like storytelling, poetry, brainstorming, and advertising and marketing content material. This mannequin is commonly susceptible to inconsistencies or factual inaccuracies, its inventive power makes it a helpful device for content material creators seeking to transcend the same old.
Which duties to make use of GPT-4.5 for?
- Writing inventive tales, poems, or scripts (e.g., drafting a brief story or poem)
- Brainstorming promoting slogans or advertising and marketing taglines (e.g., catchy marketing campaign concepts)
- Exploring uncommon or imaginative ideas (e.g., producing fantasy world concepts)
- Ideation classes for content material creators or artists
The place it struggles: Much less constant factual accuracy and stability; not advisable for mission-critical or technical reasoning duties.
My take: A promising mannequin for inventive professionals who need to experiment with AI-generated concepts and prose.
Deep Analysis Instrument
“Use this for deep analysis”
– Andrej Karparthy
“Run deep analysis” device is a complicated characteristic that mixes the ability of ChatGPT fashions with real-time internet searches and multi-source information retrieval. It’s designed to offer thorough and up-to-date solutions. This device synthesizes data from a number of paperwork, making it good for in-depth analysis tasks, tutorial work, and different advanced investigations. It’s nice for deep dives like tutorial work, market analysis, or coverage evaluation.
Which duties to make use of Deep Analysis for?
- Educational analysis that wants the most recent research and papers (e.g., compiling a literature assessment)
- Market analysis that requires up-to-date trade traits (e.g., analyzing competitor methods)
- Coverage and authorized evaluation involving current laws (e.g., summarizing new legal guidelines or laws)
The place it struggles: In duties counting on web information high quality. The responses could be slower as a consequence of search and synthesis overhead.
My take: A strong augmentation for advanced, information-heavy duties the place complete and present solutions are required.
ChatGPT Model Comparability
Here’s a concise abstract of all of the fashions at present obtainable in ChatGPT, their particulars, limitations, and a few use instances.
| Model | Description | Finest Use Circumstances & Examples | Limitations |
|---|---|---|---|
| GPT-4o | Balanced, quick, dependable | Emails, blogs, mild coding (e.g., refund e mail, utils) | Not for deep reasoning |
| o3 | Deep reasoning, slower | Authorized/scientific evaluation, advanced debugging | Slower, costly |
| o4-mini | Very quick, unreliable | Informal testing, experimental | Low accuracy, hallucinations |
| o4-mini-high | Quick, coding/visible claims | Experimental coding demos | Susceptible to errors |
| GPT-4.5 (Preview) | Artistic, imaginative | Storytelling, adverts, brainstorming | Much less constant, factual gaps |
| o1 Professional Mode | Legacy superior reasoning | Legacy techniques solely | Sluggish, outdated |
| GPT-4.1 | Quick coding help | Code technology/debugging (e.g., scrapers, fixes) | Restricted advanced reasoning |
| GPT-4.1-mini | Light-weight, quick, decrease high quality | Informal experiments, casual queries | Much less dependable |
| Run Deep Analysis | Internet-augmented multi-source device | Educational analysis, market intel, coverage evaluation | Relying on internet information, slower |
Conclusion
Makers of ChatGPT have made the GPT 4o the default mannequin within the Chatbot for a motive – its simply what you want for any day after day help. For troublesome and detailed duties, herald o3. Its cheaper too now. For some inventive aptitude use GPT-4.5’s, whereas coders can get fast assist from GPT-4.1. Keep away from the mini fashions for something severe, and depend on the “Run deep analysis” device when you’ll want to dig deep and pull in recent information. We agree with Andrej Karpathy’s opinion for a lot of the fashions! Out of the 9 fashions that ChatGPT at present presents – it’s simply 4 fashions which are actually price your time.
Use this information and I hope it can save you a while and maximize the standard of outputs that you just get utilizing ChatGPT!
Anu Madan is an skilled in tutorial design, content material writing, and B2B advertising and marketing, with a expertise for reworking advanced concepts into impactful narratives. Along with her give attention to Generative AI, she crafts insightful, modern content material that educates, conjures up, and drives significant engagement.
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