OpenAI Rolls Back ChatGPT’s Model Router System for Most Users

On a low-profile blog that tracks product changes, the company said that it rolled back ChatGPT’s model router—an automated system that sends complicated user questions to more advanced “reasoning” models—for users on its Free and $5-a-month Go tiers. Instead, those users will now default to GPT-5.2 Instant, the fastest and cheapest-to-serve version of OpenAI’s new model series. Free and Go users will still be able to access reasoning models, but they will have to select them manually.

The model router launched just four months ago as part of OpenAI’s push to unify the user experience with the debut of GPT-5. The feature analyzes user questions before choosing whether ChatGPT answers them with a fast-responding, cheap-to-serve AI model or a slower, more expensive reasoning AI model. Ideally, the router is supposed to direct users to OpenAI’s smartest AI models exactly when they need them ...