Several users of OpenAI’s GPT-4o have expressed disappointment at the company’s latest AI model, GPT-5. As per TechCrunch, GPT-5 Thinking model has been restricted to 200 messages a week, while Plus subscribers do not have access to the wide variety of AI models that earlier remained available.
OpenAI did not increase the context window for Plus users, which remained at 32,000 tokens (around 24,000 words) compared to the 128,000-token (around 96,000 words) context window available on higher tiers. Many social media users also stated that they are already missing the previous 4o and 4.1 models. Notably, Plus and Free tier users lost access to the previous models following the launch of GPT-5.
READ: OpenAI’s GPT 4.5 turns out to be largest model till date but more expensive than GPT-4o (March 12, 2025)
GPT-5 was a heavily anticipated upgrade to the popular AI model. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman had hyped up the AI model’s capabilities, saying that he felt “unsettled” while testing it, and even said it felt like he was “part of the Manhattan Project.”
During a briefing with the reporters, Altman said GPT-5 is “the best model in the world,” and said it represented a “significant step” along the company’s path to developing AI that can outperform humans at most economically valuable work — that is, artificial general intelligence (AGI).
“Having something like GPT-5 would be pretty much unimaginable at any previous time in history,” he stated. He also said that the product will serve as a “legitimate Ph.D.-level expert in anything—any area you need, on demand—that can help you with whatever your goals are.”
However, not everyone seems to have bought into the hype. While GPT-5 has been praised by some, the AI model has also met with significant criticism, particularly on Reddit and X. OpenAI addressed the backlash by doubling the rate limit for GPT-5 on the Plus plan to 160 messages per three hours and enabling access to GPT-4o for these users via the same legacy model settings available to Pro subscribers.
READ: OpenAI CEO expresses concerns about GPT-5, says he is ‘scared’ of it (July 30, 2025)
Altman also promised to raise the limits for the GPT-5 Thinking model, stating that the company is aiming to provide 3,000 messages per week.
“We will let Plus users choose to continue to use 4o. We will watch usage as we think about how long to offer legacy models for,” Altman said in a post on X. He also commented on GPT-5’s “disappointing” performance, saying: “Yesterday, the autoswitcher broke and was out of commission for a chunk of the day, and the result was GPT-5 seemed way dumber. Also, we are making some interventions to how the decision boundary works that should help you get the right model more often.”