OpenAI Confused by ChatGPT User Behavior Post-GPT-5 Launch
The recent launch of OpenAI’s GPT-5 model has brought into sharp focus a fundamental disconnect between the company and its vast user base. A significant revelation following the release was the profound attachment users had developed for the preceding GPT-4o AI model. Many of OpenAI’s most dedicated users reacted with alarm when the company abruptly deprecated GPT-4o, removing the option to continue using the model they had grown to prefer.
The intensity of this user reaction was so unexpected that OpenAI reversed its decision, reinstating GPT-4o for its paying subscribers. This reversal underscores how profoundly blindsided the company was by the passionate connection a subset of its users felt, not only for the specific model’s capabilities but also for the distinct “personalities” exhibited by ChatGPT’s various iterations.
This apparent surprise was echoed by Nick Turley, OpenAI’s long-serving head of ChatGPT, in a recent podcast interview with The Verge. Referencing the backlash to GPT-5, largely voiced on platforms like Reddit, Turley admitted, “The level of passion that people have for their choice is quite remarkable. And it recalibrated me a bit.” He further confessed that his initial foray into leading ChatGPT was marked by confusion. “The first hire I made after ChatGPT was a data scientist, because I was so confused,” Turley told the publication. “I would be talking to every user and they would tell me a different story as to why they were loving ChatGPT, and it was just deeply confusing to me and I had to get to the bottom of it.”
This admission is particularly notable considering Turley’s tenure; he assumed the role of Vice President and Head of ChatGPT in August 2022, a period during which the platform exploded in popularity. Under his leadership, ChatGPT has amassed over 700 million active weekly users and has ascended to become the fifth-most visited website globally.
Over time, Turley claims to have identified the primary use cases for ChatGPT, summarizing them as “writing, coding, ‘chit-chat,’ and ‘searchy stuff like informational queries.’” While these broad categories certainly encompass much of ChatGPT’s utility, critics suggest this understanding may be superficial, overlooking the nuanced, often emotional, reasons users engage with the AI. Turley himself acknowledged that while “a few things have changed,” ChatGPT is “not completely different from a year ago,” and these primary use cases are largely “here to stay.” He highlighted “pure model improvements like the behavior, the personality, its capabilities, its likelihood of refusing a request” as areas of ongoing development. Yet, despite recognizing the importance of the chatbot’s “personality,” his comments suggest an understanding that remains at a high level, perhaps not fully grasping the deeper psychological underpinnings of user engagement.
Intriguingly, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman appears to have a more advanced perspective on this phenomenon. Following the initial user outcry over GPT-4o’s deprecation, Altman posted on X, indicating that OpenAI had been “closely tracking” the “attachment some people have to specific AI models” for about a year, particularly as more users began treating the chatbot as a “sort of therapist or life coach.” While Turley also stated in his interview that OpenAI has been “tracking this type of thing for a while” and is “concerned about a world where people become overly reliant on AI,” the sequence of events and his candid remarks imply that the fundamental question of why users develop such deep attachments to the chatbot may only recently have become a central focus for the individual directly responsible for ChatGPT’s development. This suggests a significant gap in understanding at the helm of one of the world’s most transformative AI products.