OpenAI ChatGPT Release History Timeline

The public product era begins.

OpenAI introduces ChatGPT as a conversational research preview built for dialogue, follow-up questions, and feedback.

A $20 subscription adds priority access.

OpenAI launches ChatGPT Plus with general access during peak times, faster responses, and priority access to new features.

The first giant capability jump.

GPT-4 launches with stronger reasoning, reliability, and multimodal research capabilities, with access through ChatGPT Plus.

ChatGPT gets tools.

OpenAI starts rolling out initial plugin support so ChatGPT can access information, run computations, and use third-party services.

The assistant moves onto phones.

OpenAI launches the ChatGPT iOS app with synced conversations, voice input through Whisper, and GPT-4 access for Plus users.

ChatGPT becomes an enterprise product.

OpenAI launches ChatGPT Enterprise with business privacy controls, admin features, longer context, and higher-speed GPT-4 access.

ChatGPT starts seeing and speaking.

OpenAI begins rolling out voice conversations and image understanding in ChatGPT for Plus and Enterprise users.

No-code custom ChatGPTs arrive.

OpenAI introduces GPTs: custom versions of ChatGPT with instructions, extra knowledge, and chosen capabilities.

Custom GPT discovery goes live.

The GPT Store starts rolling out to Plus, Team, and Enterprise users with popular and featured custom GPTs.

A self-serve workspace for teams.

OpenAI launches ChatGPT Team with a collaborative workspace, admin tools, higher message caps, and business data controls.

ChatGPT remembers across chats.

Memory becomes available to ChatGPT Plus users in supported regions, letting the assistant retain user preferences across conversations.

Omnimodal intelligence reaches ChatGPT.

OpenAI introduces GPT-4o and brings more intelligence and tools to free ChatGPT users, including stronger text, vision, and voice capabilities.

Reasoning models enter ChatGPT.

OpenAI releases the first o1 models in ChatGPT and the API, designed to spend more time reasoning before answering.

ChatGPT becomes a side-by-side workspace.

OpenAI introduces canvas, a new interface for writing and coding projects that opens beside the chat.

Web answers move into chat.

OpenAI launches ChatGPT search with timely answers and source links, initially for Plus, Team, and SearchGPT waitlist users.

A high-compute plan for power users.

OpenAI adds ChatGPT Pro, a $200 monthly plan with expanded access to top models and o1 pro mode.

Files and chats get grouped into workspaces.

ChatGPT Projects launch for Plus, Team, and Pro users, grouping chats, uploaded files, and custom instructions.

ChatGPT can act later.

OpenAI begins rolling out scheduled tasks in beta, letting users ask ChatGPT to run one-time or recurring prompts in the future.

A browser-using agent preview.

OpenAI releases Operator, a research preview agent that can use its own browser to click, type, scroll, and complete web tasks.

Research analyst mode arrives.

OpenAI introduces deep research in ChatGPT for multi-step online research and source-backed reports.

A larger general-purpose chat model preview.

OpenAI releases GPT-4.5 as a research preview of its strongest GPT model for chat, initially for Pro users and developers.

GPT-4 gives way to GPT-4o in ChatGPT.

OpenAI announces GPT-4 will be retired from ChatGPT and replaced by GPT-4o, while remaining available in the API.

Research and action converge.

OpenAI introduces ChatGPT agent, which can reason, browse, use tools, run code, and produce editable deliverables.

A unified GPT-5 experience arrives.

OpenAI introduces GPT-5 as its smartest, fastest, and most useful model yet, with thinking built into ChatGPT.

The self-serve team plan gets a clearer name.

OpenAI renames ChatGPT Team to ChatGPT Business, keeping features, pricing, and limits unchanged.

ChatGPT starts the conversation.

OpenAI previews Pulse for Pro users on mobile, with personalized daily research cards based on chats, feedback, and connected apps.

Chat-native apps and an Apps SDK.

OpenAI introduces apps that run inside ChatGPT conversations and releases the Apps SDK preview for developers.

A browser with ChatGPT built in.

OpenAI introduces ChatGPT Atlas, a browser designed around ChatGPT as an on-page assistant and action layer.

GPT-5 becomes smarter and more conversational.

OpenAI upgrades GPT-5 to GPT-5.1 Instant and GPT-5.1 Thinking, improving conversational style, adaptive reasoning, and user control over tone.

Multiple people can collaborate with ChatGPT.

OpenAI pilots group chats so people can bring ChatGPT into shared planning, decision-making, and project conversations.

Shopping moves from research to purchase.

Instant Checkout begins rolling out to Shopify merchants, letting supported products be purchased directly inside ChatGPT.

ChatGPT builds personalized buyer guides.

OpenAI launches shopping research, an interactive product-research experience that asks clarifying questions and returns personalized buyer guides.

Voice, text, images, and widgets share one chat.

ChatGPT Voice becomes part of the normal chat interface, pairing spoken answers with streamed text, images, widgets, and typed replies.

A professional-work and long-agent upgrade.

OpenAI releases GPT-5.2 Instant, Thinking, and Pro in ChatGPT, improving spreadsheets, presentations, code, long context, vision, and tool use.

Image generation becomes a first-class ChatGPT surface.

OpenAI introduces an improved ChatGPT Images experience on web and mobile, with a dedicated My images area for generated images.

Developers can publish ChatGPT apps.

OpenAI opens app submissions for review and publication in ChatGPT, with an app directory for discovery.

Approved apps become browsable inside ChatGPT.

OpenAI introduces the app directory, letting users browse and add approved apps and connectors directly in ChatGPT.

A dedicated health experience.

OpenAI introduces ChatGPT Health as a dedicated space for health and wellness, with added privacy protections and health data connections.

Research connects to apps and MCP.

OpenAI updates deep research with MCP and app connections, trusted-site restrictions, live progress, and interruptible refinement.

Everyday ChatGPT gets smoother and more useful.

OpenAI releases GPT-5.3 Instant, improving answer accuracy, web-search synthesis, refusal judgment, writing range, and conversational flow.

Professional reasoning and computer use advance.

OpenAI releases GPT-5.4 in ChatGPT as GPT-5.4 Thinking, plus GPT-5.4 Pro, improving professional work, agents, coding, deep research, and computer use.

Reasoning fallback improves for Free and Go.

OpenAI rolls out GPT-5.4 mini in ChatGPT as the Thinking feature for Free and Go users and as a fallback when paid users hit GPT-5.4 Thinking limits.

Uploaded and created files become reusable context.

OpenAI introduces File Library so uploaded and created files can be found, reused, and referenced in future ChatGPT conversations.

A new image generation model arrives.

OpenAI introduces ChatGPT Images 2.0 across all ChatGPT plans, plus images with thinking for paid users selecting Thinking or Pro models.

A new frontier model for real work.

OpenAI releases GPT-5.5 to Plus, Pro, Business, and Enterprise users in ChatGPT and Codex, with GPT-5.5 Pro for higher-accuracy work.

ChatGPT's default model gets upgraded.

OpenAI rolls out GPT-5.5 Instant as ChatGPT's new default model for all users, replacing GPT-5.3 Instant.

ChatGPT enters spreadsheets directly.

OpenAI launches ChatGPT sidebars for Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets so users can build, update, and understand spreadsheets in place.

A safety feature for serious distress signals.

OpenAI begins rolling out trusted contact, letting eligible adult users nominate someone who may be notified if systems detect serious self-harm risk.

Codex work can be steered from the phone.

Codex becomes available in preview in the ChatGPT mobile app, letting users monitor and steer active work running on a connected Mac host.

A finance dashboard starts rolling out.

ChatGPT begins rolling out a personal finance experience for Pro users in the United States, with Plaid-connected account context.

Codex gets richer context and long-task controls.

OpenAI updates Codex with appshots for attaching app-window context, Goal mode across app, IDE and CLI, browser annotations, locked computer use, and browser-use improvements.

The default model gets style and quality tuning.

OpenAI updates GPT-5.5 Instant in ChatGPT and the API for more readable, natural, better-paced responses, while moving writing and coding support directly into chat responses.

Codex reaches Windows apps and remote control.

OpenAI adds Windows computer use in the Codex app, remote control across Windows-hosted work, responsiveness and browser improvements, and Codex Profiles for eligible users.

ChatGPT adds live job search and resume formatting.

ChatGPT can surface personalized live jobs and freelance opportunities, tailor resumes to roles, and export polished resumes.

Users can review and sign out of OpenAI sessions.

OpenAI rolls out Active sessions in ChatGPT settings so users can review first-party OpenAI sessions and sign out of individual or all sessions.

ChatGPT gets fresher personalization and stronger security controls.

OpenAI upgrades memory so ChatGPT can keep context more current for Plus and Pro users in the US, and makes Lockdown Mode available to all logged-in users.

ChatGPT answers get richer visual and document surfaces.

OpenAI adds interactive charts in answers, table-of-contents support for longer conversations, full-screen writing blocks, email sending from chat, and mobile attachment-editing fixes.

ChatGPT reframes model choice around reasoning effort.

OpenAI updates the ChatGPT model picker with Instant, Medium, High, Extra High, Pro Standard, and Pro Extended options, plus an Instant auto-switch setting.

Older GPT-5.2 models hand off to GPT-5.5.

OpenAI removes GPT-5.2 Instant, GPT-5.2 Thinking, and GPT-5.2 Pro from ChatGPT, with existing conversations continuing on corresponding GPT-5.5 models.

Users get finer control over ChatGPT memory.

ChatGPT adds controls for deleting items from the memory summary page and turning memory off through a combined delete-and-disable action.

Codex gains controlled browser diagnostics.

OpenAI adds Developer Mode for Browser use in Chrome and the Codex in-app browser, giving Codex controlled access to page diagnostics such as profiling, console output, network traffic, DOM state, and styles.

Tasks become easier to manage and more reliable.

OpenAI updates scheduled tasks with a dedicated Scheduled page, faster and more reliable runs, broader scheduling windows, connected-app monitoring, and richer notifications.

ChatGPT adds language, sports, app, and organization improvements.

OpenAI updates ChatGPT with pronunciation guidance, World Cup help, app permission controls, easier pinning and sharing, notes from responses, faster iOS photo uploads, and Android model-picking shortcuts.

Codex can learn reusable workflows from a demonstration.

OpenAI launches Record and Replay for the Codex macOS app, letting eligible users demonstrate a workflow once and turn it into a reusable skill.

ChatGPT gets stronger health and wellness responses.

OpenAI says GPT-5.5 Instant improves ChatGPT's health responses, with better urgent-care recognition, context gathering, uncertainty handling, and clearer explanations.