The ChatGPT-5 upgrade has recently sparked significant backlash among its users, as AI rivals continue to advance in the market. Released on Thursday, the latest model has been criticized for being overhyped by OpenAI CEO and co-founder Sam Altman. Many users took to social media platforms to express dissatisfaction with the new release, citing its restrictive rate limits and lack of options to revert to previous AI models. This has led some to consider switching to competing AI platforms.
In response to the feedback, Altman addressed these concerns in a post on X, stating, “We are going to double GPT-5 rate limits for ChatGPT Plus users as we finish rollout. We will let Plus users choose to continue to use 4o. We will watch usage as we think about how long to offer legacy models for.” Altman described GPT-5 as “a major upgrade over GPT-4” and a “significant step” towards artificial general intelligence (AGI) during the official rollout.
ChatGPT-5 Upgrade: User Concerns
The negative feedback around the ChatGPT-5 upgrade comes amid rising competition from open-weighted, open-source, and decentralized AI platforms. These alternatives are less capital-intensive and are successfully capturing market share from large, centralized players in the consumer AI sector.
AI Rivals Gain Ground
Among the emerging AI competitors is DeepSeek, an artificial intelligence company that launched its new open-weighted large-language model, Prover V2, in April. This model is particularly designed for mathematical applications. Open-weight AI models are advantageous as they offer transparency, allowing anyone to download and use the software, though they keep certain elements like training data private.
Despite not being fully open-source, open-weight software is more transparent than centralized models, which generally keep their code concealed. In May, DeepSeek also upgraded its general-purpose open-weighted AI model, DeepSeek R1-0528, which has demonstrated performance on par with leading AI models, including OpenAI’s offerings. The DeepSeek app has been downloaded over 75 million times since its launch in January, as reported by Business of Apps.
This increasing competition from nimble AI projects is reshaping the consumer AI market, prompting established players like OpenAI to adapt to these challenges. As the technology landscape evolves, the need for innovation and user-centric advancements becomes imperative for maintaining a competitive edge.
As ChatGPT-5 upgrade faces these hurdles, it remains to be seen how OpenAI will respond to the growing demands and expectations of its user base while contending with the dynamic shifts in the AI industry.
