OpenAI retired GPT‑4o from ChatGPT on February 13, 2026, alongside GPT‑4.1, GPT‑4.1 mini, and o4‑mini. The change did not retire GPT‑4o from the API: OpenAI’s Help Center says it remains available there. OpenAI acknowledged that losing ChatGPT access would frustrate some users, while saying daily use had shifted heavily to GPT‑5.2.
When was GPT‑4o retired from ChatGPT?
OpenAI announced the retirement on January 29, 2026, and the Help Center confirms it took effect on February 13, 2026. The models removed from ChatGPT were GPT‑4o, GPT‑4.1, GPT‑4.1 mini, and OpenAI o4‑mini. OpenAI’s retirement notice says conversations and projects default to GPT‑5.3 Instant or GPT‑5.4 Thinking/Pro equivalents, while GPTs that used retired models move to the closest equivalent.
Can you still use GPT‑4o through the API?
Yes. OpenAI’s current Help Center says GPT‑4o remains available through the API. Its January 29 announcement said there were no API changes “at this time”; that statement described the situation on that date, not a simultaneous API retirement. ChatGPT access and API availability are separate.
How long did custom GPT access continue?
Business, Enterprise, and Edu customers retained GPT‑4o access inside custom GPTs after the general ChatGPT retirement. OpenAI says that transition ended April 3, 2026, when GPT‑4o was fully retired across plans. This extension applied to custom GPTs for those customer plans, not to general ChatGPT model selection.
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Why did OpenAI retire GPT‑4o?
OpenAI said most ChatGPT usage had shifted to GPT‑5.2 and reported that just 0.1% of users still chose GPT‑4o each day when it announced the decision on January 29, 2026. That is OpenAI’s figure; the announcement does not provide a methodology or independent audit.
The company also said it had heard from some Plus and Pro users after it first deprecated GPT‑4o and restored access during the GPT‑5 release. Those users wanted more transition time for important use cases, including creative ideation, and preferred GPT‑4o’s conversational style and warmth. OpenAI said this feedback informed personality, creative ideation, and response-customization changes in GPT‑5.1 and GPT‑5.2. This is OpenAI’s account of feedback from some users, not a finding about all GPT‑4o users or a comparative quality assessment.
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OpenAI acknowledged the impact directly: “We know that losing access to GPT‑4o will feel frustrating for some users, and we didn’t make this decision lightly.” The statement appeared in the company’s January 29, 2026 announcement.
What changed—and what did not
| Where or feature | Status after the transition |
|---|---|
| ChatGPT model selection | GPT‑4o, GPT‑4.1, GPT‑4.1 mini, and o4‑mini retired February 13, 2026, according to OpenAI’s Help Center. |
| GPT‑4o API access | Remains available through the API, according to OpenAI’s Help Center. |
| Business, Enterprise, and Edu custom GPTs | GPT‑4o access continued until April 3, 2026, then ended across plans, according to OpenAI’s Help Center. |
| ChatGPT Voice and Images | OpenAI says these were not changing as part of this update; they use different models from the retired text GPT‑4o, according to the retirement notice. |
What GPT‑4o users should expect now
If you used GPT‑4o in ChatGPT, you cannot select it there following the completed retirement. Existing conversations and projects use the stated GPT‑5.3 Instant or GPT‑5.4 Thinking/Pro equivalents, and custom GPTs that relied on retired models move to the closest equivalent. These are OpenAI’s documented transitions; they do not establish that the replacement will behave identically in every prompt or workflow.
If your work depends on a specific conversational style or creative workflow, review outputs from the available equivalent in your own tasks and adjust your instructions or customization. Users working through the API should check OpenAI’s current access documentation before changing an integration, since the Help Center’s availability information may change over time.
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