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Investing.com -- OpenAI launched a sweeping update to its flagship ChatGPT platform on Wednesday, unveiling GPT-5.1, a refinement of its GPT-5 series that promises sharper reasoning, improved instruction following, and a more natural conversational tone.
The update introduces two upgraded models, GPT-5.1 Instant and GPT-5.1 Thinking, both designed to make interactions feel “warmer, more intelligent, and better at following instructions,” according to OpenAI. The release follows the company’s mixed reception to GPT-5 earlier this year, when users praised its power but criticized its stiffness and uneven communication style.
“Great AI should not only be smart, but also enjoyable to talk to,” OpenAI said in its announcement. “GPT-5.1 improves meaningfully on both intelligence and communication style.”
Altman: “A Nice Upgrade”
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman confirmed the launch in a post on X, writing: “GPT-5.1 is out! It’s a nice upgrade. I particularly like the improvements in instruction following, and the adaptive thinking. The intelligence and style improvements are good too. Also, we’ve made it easier to customize ChatGPT — you can pick from presets (Default, Friendly, Efficient, Professional, Candid, or Quirky) or tune it yourself.”
Altman’s comments underscore OpenAI’s emphasis on usability and personality customization, areas where GPT-5 drew criticism from both casual users and professionals who found it overly rigid.
A More Conversational Core
GPT-5.1 Instant has been re-engineered to sound more approachable and emotionally aware. OpenAI says it now adapts its reasoning depth to the complexity of each prompt, responding quickly to simple questions but taking more time to “think” through difficult ones.
Early demos show the model communicating with a more empathetic and playful tone. In one exchange, GPT-5.1 Instant responded to a stressed user by name and offered tailored relaxation tips, a shift from the more detached phrasing common in GPT-5 responses.
The company also claims measurable performance gains: GPT-5.1 Instant reportedly scores higher on math and coding benchmarks such as AIME 2025 and Codeforces, driven by a new “adaptive reasoning” system that determines when to reason more deeply before replying.
GPT-5.1 Thinking: Clearer, Smarter, and More Human
OpenAI’s companion model, GPT-5.1 Thinking, targets users who rely on ChatGPT for complex problem-solving or analytical work. The model now dynamically adjusts its response time, twice as fast on simple tasks and twice as slow on difficult ones, while producing explanations that are “clearer, with less jargon and fewer undefined terms.”
The company says this makes GPT-5.1 Thinking not only more capable but also easier for non-technical users to understand. It also adopts a noticeably warmer tone, softening the edges of what was previously the most logic-driven model in the lineup.
Deeper Personalization Options
Alongside the model refresh, OpenAI is expanding ChatGPT’s tone and personality controls, making it easier for users to customize how the chatbot sounds.
The update refines preset options: Default, Friendly, Efficient, Professional, Candid, and Quirky, and adds deeper sliders to adjust traits such as warmth, conciseness, and emoji use. These changes now take effect instantly across all conversations, rather than only in new chats.
OpenAI says the goal is to make personalization “intuitive and effortless,” allowing ChatGPT to better match how people naturally want it to sound.
Rollout and Transition
GPT-5.1 begins rolling out today to ChatGPT Plus, Pro, Go, Business, Enterprise, and Edu users, with free and logged-out users gaining access in the coming days. API support will follow later this week under gpt-5.1-chat-latest (Instant) and gpt-5.1 (Thinking).
Legacy GPT-5 models will remain available for three months to give users time to compare performance before being sunset.
A Softer Path After GPT-5’s Hype Cycle
The GPT-5.1 launch reflects OpenAI’s bid to rebuild momentum after GPT-5’s reception fell short of its “AGI-level” hype. While GPT-5 delivered advances in reasoning, users often found it less personable, an issue GPT-5.1 appears designed to fix.
By blending technical and tonal improvements, OpenAI is signaling that the next phase of AI competition may hinge less on raw intelligence and more on user experience. “Today’s GPT-5.1 updates are a step toward a ChatGPT that feels like it fits you — smarter, more enjoyable to talk to, and more adaptable to your preferences,” OpenAI said.
The release positions OpenAI to maintain its edge against Anthropic’s Claude and Google’s Gemini, both of which have leaned on similar “human-like” communication updates in recent months.