New Features: What's Going On With ChatGPT?

It has long been rumored that the ChatGPT inventors of OpenAI were working on a new, spectacular version. Yesterday, the time had finally come, and the new AI model GPT-5 was officially presented in a livestream. There, we also learned that 700 million people use ChatGPT on a weekly basis and that 5 million people are paying business customers.

GPT-5 is here - and that's all new

OpenAI promises us that GPT-5 has become smarter and faster. This was underlined quite impressively at the presentation. However, there were also some critical voices after the event, who had obviously expected more from the new AI. Admittedly, there was no tangible "iPhone" moment, and the presentation wasn't as spectacular as previous ones. But at least there are some noticeable improvements that we want to talk about here.

According to OpenAI, ChatGPT now hallucinates less with GPT-5. There are already demonstrations that show that GPT-5 continues to hallucinate. It remains to be seen whether this actually happens less frequently. OpenAI has really stepped up the pace. Some prompts are answered twice as quickly as with the predecessor. This is also significantly noticeable when creating programming code.

Programming with the snap of a finger

Perhaps this brings us to an essential improvement that the ChatGPT company also spent a lot of time on during the launch: GPT-5 and its programming skills! It is faster than before, but above all, the results are also more convincing. If you want to program a game or an app, you can do so simply by prompting, without any programming knowledge. Of course, this was already possible before, but now the frontline design, i.e., the look of the application created by GPT-5, is also impressive.

This was demonstrated using the example of a language app for people who want to learn French. A visually appealing app with several functions, including a quiz, was created in no time at all. It also included a version of the game "Snake", where you can also learn vocabulary.

The app looked really appealing, and if you repeat the prompt, a completely different version of the application, including a new design, is created in a flash every time.

ChatGPT now understands you much better

GPT-5 is not only a real blessing for programmers, but for all of us. GPT-5 should now understand context even better, provide more precise answers, and sometimes even be more insightful than before. This means that in the future, ChatGPT will even be able to explain things to us when it can't help us. To do this, GPT-5 "thinks" better, automatically breaking down a task into several steps if necessary.

GPT-5 can be better used in real-world workflows thanks to its improved text comprehension. You can also mark certain words or sentences in the results in order to explicitly rework them. Overall, initial tests have also shown that the formulations sound much more rounded and genuine, no longer as wooden as before.

Incidentally, GPT-5 should also deliver significantly better results in the health sector. Potential problems are proactively identified, appropriate questions are asked, and we are given guidance on what we should ask at a doctor's appointment, for example. However, it goes without saying that ChatGPT will not replace a visit to the doctor in the future either.

What else is new

In the future, you will also be able to specify how detailed or brief an answer should be. This will save you time and computational effort, and avoid excessive answers when you don't need them.

It will also be possible to select personalities to determine how ChatGPT communicates with you. Do you prefer it to be concise and professional, thoughtful and supportive, or perhaps even sarcastic? In the settings, you can choose whether you prefer to be a cynic, robot, listener, or nerd.

You will also be able to personalize chats by choosing a color for your chat. Paying customers will have more options, but the feature is generally available to everyone.

In the future, you will also be able to connect Gmail, Google Calendar, and Google Contacts with ChatGPT. The rollout starts next week for Pro, with further levels to follow.

Finally, the voice function has also been improved! Here, too, the voice style in the extended voice function should be better adapted to the respective situations.

... saving the best for last

But we haven't told you the best part yet. There are two things that caused a lot of excitement at the presentation.

1. GPT-5 clears up the model chaos. Until now, you had to choose the right model depending on the task. From now on, ChatGPT will make this decision on its own and automatically select the right tool.
2. GPT-5 is not only reserved for paying customers. Even though the use of GPT-5 is severely limited in the free version, with the new ChatGPT, everyone can access OpenAI's most powerful language model!

Availability

Let us therefore briefly note when GPT-5 will be available and what differences there are in the various tariffs. GPT-5 will be made available immediately. However, the rollout will be gradual, so you may have to be patient for a few more days. How extensively you can use GPT-5 depends on the ChatGPT variant that is used:

• Pro: Unlimited access to GPT-5; access to GPT-5 Pro

• Plus: Significantly higher usage limits than Free

• Team/Enterprise/EDU: GPT-5 as the standard model for everyday work (rollout for Enterprise/EDU next week, according to OpenAI)

• Free: Access to GPT-5 & GPT-5 mini; for the first time, free users have access to a model for logical thinking! Have you used up your daily limit for GPT-5?

Limits for free use

Since many of you use ChatGPT for free, you will be interested to know exactly what the limits are here.

According to OpenAI, you can send up to ten messages every five hours. After that, you switch to the mini version as long as the limit is reset. You also have access to one GPT-5 Thinking message per day.

Plus users, who continue to pay roughly $20 per month, can send up to 80 messages within a three-hour period. Those using this version (or Team) can also manually select the Thinking model. There is a limit of 200 messages per week.

Conclusion

Of course, it is not yet possible to draw a conclusion, as the announcements must first withstand the tests. GPT-5 appears to be a coherent and consistent update, albeit a quieter one than initially expected. It is not a new AI revolution. But the mere fact that OpenAI is bringing structure to its model architecture and also providing the free user base with the strongest GPT-5 model makes you sit up and take notice.