OpenAI announces a model upgrade, GPT-5.1, with two variants that are meant to be warmer and more intelligent.
“We’ve learned that AI needs to be not only smart but also enjoyable to talk to,” says OpenAI in a blog post. The company addresses these desires with its new GPT-5.1 series, which is meant to be more intelligent and also employs a better communication style. GPT-5.1 consists of two models: Instant and Thinking. The upgrade is being rolled out to paying users now and will be available to everyone later.
GPT-5.1 Instant and Thinking
OpenAI upgrades its GPT-5 series with the announcement of two new models: GPT-5.1 Instant and GPT-5.1 Thinking. GPT 5.1 Instant is now warmer and more congenial by default. When asked “I’m feeling tense and could use some relaxation tips,” GPT-5.1 Instant responds more amiably than the base model of GPT-5.
The model better distinguishes between simple and complex questions, and adjusts its processing time accordingly. As a result, it responds faster to simple tasks and more thoroughly to difficult ones. The improvements ensure that answers sound clearer and less technical, with attention to context and ease of use.
The Thinking variant adapts its thinking time more dynamically, which according to OpenAI results in up to 71 percent longer answers for more difficult questions and up to 57 percent shorter answers for easy tasks. According to OpenAI, the answers from GPT-5.1 Thinking are “clearer, with less jargon and fewer undefined terms.” Both variants also deliver improved performance in applications such as mathematics and programming.
Setting the Tone
OpenAI offers users the ability to shape the tone of ChatGPT themselves. “Preferences for chat styles vary from person to person and conversation to conversation, so we’re introducing more intuitive and effective controls,” the company says. Users can now choose from new tone settings such as Professional, Candid or Quirky, which adjust the model’s responses to their preferences.
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Adjustments to tone and style now apply immediately to all sessions, including ongoing conversations, which was not the case before. This keeps the experience consistent when the user changes preferences.
GPT-5.1 is now available to paying users of ChatGPT (Plus, Pro, Go and Business) and will later come to free users as well. Companies and educational institutions with a subscription get seven days of early access. The model will also be added to the OpenAI API in the coming days under the name gpt-5.1-chat-latest for Instant and gpt-5.1 for Thinking.