I tested GPT-5.4, and the answers were really good - just not always what I asked

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ZDNET's key takeaways

• GPT-5.4 Thinking delivers deeper analysis than earlier ChatGPT models.
• It has strong reasoning, but it sometimes answers questions you didn't ask.
• Formatting and image generation lag behind the text quality.

It's a new month, and a new AI version number. It's called GPT-5.4 Thinking. This latest release, which OpenAI issued last week, isn't your run-of-the-mill ChatGPT incremental update.

Also: OpenAI's new GPT-5.4 clobbers humans on pro-level work in tests - by 83%

Oh, no. Instead of jumping from 5.2 to 5.3, for this release the company jumped all the way to 5.4. And instead of offering a general purpose release, the company released GPT-5.4 Thinking, a more cognitively prepared model designed for bigger thoughts and challenges.

GPT-5.4 Thinking is available ...