ChatGPT-4o is going away on February 13 — here are 5 ways you can survive the upcoming 4o-pocalypse

If you currently use ChatGPT-4o, you’re probably aware that OpenAI has decided to retire the model permanently and direct all users to its newer, and according to OpenAI, far superior model, ChatGPT-5.2, on February 13.

Long-time ChatGPT users will remember that OpenAI tried to retire ChatGPT-4o last year when it introduced the original ChatGPT-5 model, and things didn’t go well. There was so much user backlash that OpenAI was forced to reinstate 4o for Plus subscribers.

Many people felt GPT-5 was robotic, sycophantic, and humorless compared to the more quirky, intuitive GPT-4o. Not to mention the widespread feeling that a trusted companion had undergone a personality transplant overnight, and users wanted the old version back.