All ChatGPT Models Explained: Which to Use and When?

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 most likely would wish to keep away from.  So should you’ve ever puzzled which ChatGPT model to select in your task- you aren’t alone! Even consultants battle to determine which ChatGPT model to make use of and when.

However just a few days again Andrej Karpathy made his opinions clear! On this information, I’ll stroll you thru Andrej Karpathy’s solutions and preferences concerning every ChatGPT model so you could find the one which fits you greatest.

ChatGPT Variations

ChatGPT at present provides three totally different subscriptions, every with its personal set of ChatGPT variations you could entry. Here’s a breakdown of it:

Most of those variations carry one thing distinctive and are specialised for various duties. Utilizing a single mannequin for your entire duties is a factor of the previous once we didn’t have the choices. Now it’s about utilizing the appropriate mannequin for every job. However not all fashions are value it and a few of them are simply to be ignored – not less than 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 laptop imaginative and prescient. Final week he shared his ideas on varied 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 supply a steadiness between velocity and accuracy. It handles all kinds of duties with nice ease and coherence, making it splendid for many of our day-to-day duties.  Whether or not it is advisable 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 data questions
• Mild coding help like easy perform 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 very best 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 exhausting and vital. The mannequin is gradual however tremendous clever”

– Andrej Karparthy

Now, o3 is the “thinker” within the ChatGPT mannequin household. This mannequin is optimized for superior reasoning and sophisticated problem-solving. It trades velocity for intelligence, giving detailed responses on duties that require multi-step considering or complete evaluation. So if in case you have a tough doc to assessment Or perhaps only a troublesome maths drawback or equation, this mannequin takes its time to dig deep and course of exhausting and give you actual 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 educational reviews
• Duties requiring crucial, step-by-step reasoning

The place it struggles: The mannequin provides slower response occasions and better compute necessities making it much less appropriate for fast, informal duties or large-scale manufacturing environments the place velocity is crucial.

My take: Use o3 when accuracy and depth matter greater than velocity. It’s the heavy hitter for robust, vital 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 greater accuracy for advanced queries. This model of ChatGPT comes with higher software integration and thus is able to offering extra relabible responses for net searches and file evaluation. In comparison with o3 it’s gradual, but when pitied in opposition to different prime reasoning mode, o3 Professional performs quick. So if in case you have a job that requires breaking down of advanced duties, in depth evaluation of code or maths – the mannequin might 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 totally 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 job. 

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 velocity and that’s precisely the place issues get tough. The mannequin can generate solutions rapidly however it tends to provide much less dependable and largely incoherent outcomes. Its velocity may be a bonus however it 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 initiatives the place velocity issues greater than correctness like for vibe coding. 
• Informal or non-critical testing and play like for designing kids’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 velocity, I can’t advocate 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 the case of 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 velocity comes at the price of accuracy leading to incorrect code solutions or flawed reasoning. Until you’re 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., displaying an idea in a hackathon or workshop)
• AI experiments the place velocity trumps correctness (e.g., playful AI-based video games or chatbots)

The place it struggles: The mannequin provides decrease output high quality and reliability; vulnerable to errors and hallucinations.

My take: I can’t 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 knowledgeable reasoning mannequin, o1 Professional Mode is now largely outdated. The mannequin out there 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 value. Though it could possibly nonetheless produce considerate solutions, its slower velocity and outdated structure make it much less interesting for many present functions.

Which duties to make use of o1 Professional for?

• Operating legacy initiatives that require backward compatibility (e.g., sustaining older AI workflows)
• Not advisable for brand spanking new or crucial duties

The place it struggles: Slower velocity, decrease accuracy in comparison with newer fashions, and lacking the most recent options.

My take: Its time to say goodbye and transfer on to higher, sooner 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 amazing steadiness between velocity and contextual understanding, enabling quick iteration throughout growth. Whereas it could not match o3’s reasoning depth, it gives sensible coding assist that’s splendid for day-to-day programming duties.

Which duties to make use of GPT-4.1 for?

• Writing, debugging, or explaining code snippets
• Fast prototyping throughout software program growth (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, stable help on their coding journey.

GPT-4.1-mini

“Don’t use this mannequin”

– Andrej Karparthy

The mini model of GPT-4.1 guarantees velocity however falls quick 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 fitted to experimentation or informal use slightly than severe initiatives.

Which duties to make use of GPT-4.1-mini for?

• Informal or low-stakes experiments (e.g., testing primary 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: Keep on with the complete GPT-4.1 if you would like first rate assist.

GPT-4.5 (Analysis Preview)

“Use this mannequin for inventive writing”

– Andrej Karparthy

GPT-4.5 mannequin places “artwork” in “Good”. The mannequin is appropriate for inventive writing and ideation. It excels at producing imaginative and attractive content material, making it excellent fo duties like storytelling, poetry, brainstorming, and advertising and marketing content material. This mannequin is commonly vulnerable to inconsistencies or factual inaccuracies, its inventive power makes it a beneficial software for content material creators seeking to transcend the standard. 

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 wish to experiment with AI-generated concepts and prose.

Deep Analysis Instrument

“Use this for deep analysis”

– Andrej Karparthy

“Run deep analysis” software is a complicated characteristic that mixes the facility of ChatGPT fashions with real-time net searches and multi-source information retrieval. It’s designed to supply thorough and up-to-date solutions.  This software synthesizes data from a number of paperwork, making it excellent for in-depth analysis initiatives, educational work, and different advanced investigations. It’s nice for deep dives like educational work, market analysis, or coverage evaluation.

Which duties to make use of Deep Analysis for?

• Tutorial analysis that wants the most recent research and papers (e.g., compiling a literature assessment)
• Market analysis that requires up-to-date trade tendencies (e.g., analyzing competitor methods)
• Coverage and authorized evaluation involving latest laws (e.g., summarizing new legal guidelines or rules)

The place it struggles: In duties counting on web information high quality. The responses may 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 out there in ChatGPT, their particulars, limitations, and a few use circumstances.

Conclusion

Makers of ChatGPT have made the GPT 4o the default mannequin within the Chatbot for a purpose – its simply what you want for any everyday 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” software when it is advisable dig deep and pull in contemporary information. We agree with Andrej Karpathy’s opinion for many of the fashions! Out of the 9 fashions that ChatGPT at present provides – it’s simply 4 fashions which can be actually value your time.

Use this information and I hope it can save you a while and maximize the standard of outputs that you simply get utilizing ChatGPT!