GPT-5 launch is expected in August 2025. Here's everything we know so far
ChatGPT is getting an upgrade soon.
Over the last few weeks, a mix of comments from OpenAI CEO and credible reports agree that OpenAI is preparing to launch GPT-5 in August. Even an OpenAI research scientist said that “GPT-5 is coming.” This indicates that GPT-5 has likely been undergoing testing behind closed doors and that its launch is imminent.
Recently, CEO Sam Altman revealed on social media that GPT-5 will be released soon. During a podcast interview, he said that he fed it a question he couldn’t answer and was stunned when GPT-5 solved it instantly and made him feel “useless relative to the AI.” This suggests that GPT-5 represents a significant leap in capability.
Early this year, Sam Altman described GPT-5 as “a system that integrates a lot of our technology” rather than just a single model. They will no longer ship o3 as a standalone model, but its reasoning abilities will be built into GPT-5 from day one. In fact, OpenAI’s goal is to unify o-series models and GPT-series models by creating systems that can use all their tools, know when to think for a long time or not, and generally be useful for a very wide range of tasks.
We won’t need to manually pick different versions or tools anymore.
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GPT-5 key features and upgrades
Here’s everything that has been revealed and rumoured about GPT-5:
Unified skills and modalities: As Sam Altman said, GPT-5 will be a system that integrates a lot of their tech. GPT-5 would combine memory, reasoning, vision, and task execution seamlessly in one system. Unlike GPT-4 which handled things like vision or code with add-ons, GPT-5 is built as an all-in-one “super assistant” that can juggle multiple tasks in one go.
o3 reasoning level: o3 reasoning abilities will be built into GPT-5, so it is expected to excel at complex, multi-step logic problems and planning tasks that were challenging for GPT-4.
Speed: Sam Altman noted that GPT-5 feels very fast in use. Probably it’ll handle complex “agentic” tasks – essentially acting more autonomously to carry out instructions. OpenAI recently launched ChatGPT Agent (an AI that takes web actions for you), and GPT-5 will likely push this further.
Three tiers: According to Sam Altman, GPT-5 should launch in three tiers. The free tier of ChatGPT will get unlimited chat access to GPT-5 at the standard intelligence setting. Plus subscribers will be able to run GPT-5 at a higher level of intelligence, and Pro subscribers will be able to run GPT-5 at an even higher level of intelligence.
Longer Memory (Context Length): One of the most talked-about rumors is that GPT-5 will expand the context window — the amount of text it can remember and process at once. Some leaks have hinted that GPT-5 will support context windows of up to 1 million tokens (input) and up to 100,000 tokens (output). If this is true, GPT-5 could read entire books and huge datasets in a single session, a game-changer for lengthy documents and conversations
Should we be scared of GPT-5?
Sam Altman recently admitted that testing GPT-5 actually left him scared at times. In the same interview, he even compared GPT-5 to the Manhattan Project, implying its development could be a pivotal moment in tech history. Altman’s dramatic analogy underscores both the immense potential and the risks he sees in ever-more intelligent AI.
However, that’s not something that will stop the launch of GPT-5.
OpenAI has likely put GPT-5 through extensive “red team” testing to catch dangerous behaviors or biases before release. Altman’s mix of excitement and caution suggests that GPT-5 will be OpenAI’s most powerful model yet, but one they’ll launch with careful consideration of its impact.
Regarding job replacement, during a recent speech in Washington, Sam Altman warned that some areas in the job market will be just totally gone, even as new roles likely emerge alongside the technology. For context, he was referring to an AI-driven future that won't arrive overnight—or with GPT-5.
We'll soon find out what GPT-5 is truly capable of.