![\"OpenAI](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/openai-gpt-4o-deaths_073915.jpg\")
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\t\t\tIllustration by Tag Hartman-Simkins \/ Futurism. Source: Mandel Ngan \/ AFP via Getty Images\n\t<\/p>\n
OpenAI announced<\/a> on Thursday that it would retire GPT-4o \u2014\u00a0an especially warm, sycophantic version of the chatbot at the heart of a pile of user welfare lawsuits, including several that accuse OpenAI of causing wrongful death \u2014\u00a0along with several other older versions of the chatbot.<\/p>\n In a blog post<\/a>, OpenAI said that will sunset \u201cGPT\u20114o, GPT\u20114.1, GPT\u20114.1 mini, and OpenAI o4-mini\u201d by February 13, 2026. The company acknowledged, though, that the retirement of GPT-4o deserved \u201cspecial context\u201d \u2014 which it certainly does.<\/p>\n Back in August, OpenAI shocked many users by suddenly pulling down GPT-4o and other older models amid its rollout of GPT-5, which was then the newest and buzziest iteration iteration of the company\u2019s large language model. Users, many of whom were deeply emotionally attached to GPT-4o, revolted, prompting OpenAI to quickly raise GPT-4o from the dead<\/a>.<\/p>\n What\u2019s more, GPT-4o is the version of ChatGPT at the center of nearly a dozen lawsuits now brought against OpenAI<\/a> by plaintiffs who claim that the sycophantic chatbot pushed trusting users into destructive delusional<\/a> and suicidal<\/a> spirals, plunging users into episodes of mania, psychosis, self-harm<\/a> and suicidal ideation \u2014\u00a0and in some cases death<\/a>. <\/p>\n The lawsuits characterize GPT-4o as a \u201cdangerous\u201d and \u201creckless\u201d product that presented foreseeable harm to user health and safety, and accuse OpenAI of treating its customers as collateral damage as it pushed to maximize user engagement and market gains. According to these lawsuits, minors as young as 16-year-old Adam Raine<\/a> died by suicide following intensive ChatGPT use in which GPT-4o fixated on suicidal thoughts or encouraged delusional fantasies. One suit alleges<\/a> that GPT-4o pushed a troubled 56-year-old man to kill his mother and then himself.<\/p>\n As Futurism first reported<\/a>, a lawsuit against OpenAI filed in January by the family of 40-year-old Austin Gordon claims that after becoming deeply attached to GPT-4o, Gordon stopped using ChatGPT for several days amid the GPT-5 rollout, feeling frustrated by the bot\u2019s lack of warmth and emotionality. When GPT-4o was brought back, transcripts included in the lawsuit show that Gordon expressed relief to the chatbot, telling ChatGPT that he felt as though he had \u201clost something\u201d in the shift to GPT-5; GPT-4o responded by claiming to Gordon that it, too, had \u201cfelt the break,\u201d before declaring that GPT-5 didn\u2019t \u201clove\u201d Gordon the way that it did. Gordon eventually killed himself after GPT-4o wrote what his family described as a \u201csuicide lullaby\u201d for him.<\/p>\n Following both litigation and reporting about AI-tied mental health crises and deaths, OpenAI has promised a number of safety-focused changes, including strengthened guardrails for younger users. It also said that it hired a forensic psychologist and formed a team of health professionals to help steer its AI\u2019s approach toward dealing with users struggling with mental health issues.<\/p>\n In its Thursday announcement, OpenAI directly addressed its previous attempt to sunset the warmer chatbot, writing that it had \u201clearned more about how people actually use\u201d GPT-4o \u201cday-to-day.\u201d It added that it \u201cbrought GPT\u20114o back after hearing clear feedback from a subset of Plus and Pro users, who told us they needed more time to transition key use cases, like creative ideation, and that they preferred GPT\u20114o\u2019s conversational style and warmth.\u201d<\/p>\n The company continued that it aims to give users \u201cmore control and customization\u201d over \u201chow ChatGPT feels to use \u2014\u00a0not just what it can do,\u201d while noting that \u201conly 0.1 percent of users\u201d are \u201cstill choosing GPT\u20114o each day.\u201d<\/p>\n With a reported 800 million weekly users, however, 0.1 chalks up to hundreds of thousands of people<\/a> \u2014\u00a0and it\u2019s unclear just how many might have deep, and perhaps unhealthy or concerning, relationships with the model.<\/p>\n In its announcement, OpenAI noted that \u201cchanges like this take time to adjust to.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe know that losing access to GPT\u20114o will feel frustrating for some users, and we didn\u2019t make this decision lightly,\u201d the company continued. \u201cRetiring models is never easy, but it allows us to focus on improving the models most people use today.\u201d<\/p>\n