OpenAI has announced a major consolidation of its AI model lineup, confirming that GPT-4o, GPT-4.1, and several other legacy models will be retired on February 13, 2026. The move comes as the company's latest GPT-5.2 model has become the overwhelming choice for ChatGPT users, with only 0.1% of daily users still relying on GPT-4o.
The retirement marks the end of an era for GPT-4o, which was once considered the gold standard in conversational AI. OpenAI cited low usage as the primary driver for the decision, noting that most users have already transitioned to newer models that offer superior performance across all benchmarks.
GPT-5.2 Sets New Standards
Released in December 2025, GPT-5.2 has achieved benchmark scores that redefine professional knowledge work. The model beats human experts on 70.9% of GDPval tasks at 11 times the speed and less than 1% of the cost, making it an unprecedented tool for enterprise applications.
Perhaps most significantly, GPT-5.2 is the first model to score above 90% on ARC-AGI-1, a benchmark designed to test artificial general intelligence capabilities. It also achieved a perfect 100% score on AIME 2025, a prestigious mathematics competition, and 40.3% on FrontierMath, demonstrating remarkable reasoning abilities.
Competition Heats Up
The rapid model progression comes amid intensifying competition. Google's Gemini, particularly its November 2025 release, reportedly exceeds GPT-5 in some benchmarks, prompting OpenAI CEO Sam Altman to call a "code red" internally to refocus the company on maintaining its competitive edge.
OpenAI faces a challenging year ahead, with ambitious plans including developing consumer AI devices, producing custom AI chips, and embarking on a massive data center expansion. The company may need to raise $100 billion or more to realize these ambitions and meet its estimated $1.4 trillion in commitments.
For developers and enterprises, OpenAI recommends migrating to GPT-5.2 before the February deadline to ensure uninterrupted service and access to the latest capabilities.