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OpenAI announced a critical update to its foundational models with the release of GPT-5.1 Instant and GPT-5.1 Thinking. The update focuses on enhancing both raw intelligence and conversational style, a move aimed at broad user adoption, from casual chat to high-stakes enterprise applications. The release provides significant new control over how ChatGPT sounds and acts, giving users customisation options beyond simple custom instructions.
GPT-5.1 Instant: A smarter chat partner
The most widely used model, GPT-5.1 Instant, receives two primary upgrades. First, it adopts a default tone described as "warmer" and more conversational. Second, and more crucial for technical use, it now uses adaptive reasoning. This means the Instant model can decide when to engage a deeper thought process before answering challenging questions. This capability resulted in clear improvements on technical evaluations like AIME 2025 and Codeforces, suggesting the model handles more complex math and coding tasks with greater accuracy than before.
Model Comparison: GPT-5 vs. GPT-5.1
The following table summarises the core changes delivered in the GPT-5.1 release, highlighting the move from fixed processing to dynamic, user-centric interaction.
| Feature | GPT-5 (Predecessor) | GPT-5.1 (Current) |
| Default Tone/Style | Often perceived as detached, functional, or rigid. | Warmer, more conversational, and empathetic by default. |
| Reasoning/Compute | Fixed reasoning parameter, leading to consistent latency regardless of question complexity. | Adaptive Reasoning: Dynamically adjusts processing time based on complexity (e.g., up to 2x faster on simple tasks, 2x slower/more persistent on hard tasks). |
| Instruction Adherence | Followed custom instructions, but consistency varied across turns. | Improved reliability; maintains constraints (like output length) more consistently. |
| Technical Clarity | (Thinking Model) Responses contained more jargon and undefined terms. | (Thinking Model) Responses are clearer, using less specialised language for complex topics. |
| Personalisation Control | Basic preset tones and custom instructions applied only to new conversations. | Granular Controls: Adds traits like Professional and Quirky. Changes apply instantly to ongoing chats. |
The customisation factor: Tailoring the tool
OpenAI addressed a core user need by making it easier to shape ChatGPT’s output tone and style. The company has refined its tone presets, retiring some older options and adding new styles, including Professional, Candid, and Quirky.
Beyond these presets, OpenAI began experimenting with granular control. Users can directly adjust settings like the model’s preferred level of conciseness, warmth, response scannability, and frequency of emoji use. This level of fine-tuning allows the AI to better fit specific team or departmental communication guidelines.
A major technical improvement supports this effort: the customisation settings now take effectimmediately across all ongoing conversations. Previously, style changes only applied to new chats. This provides a more consistent, immediate user experience. The models also show improved adherence to custom instructions, meaning user-defined rules on tone or content are followed more reliably.
Market implications and API access
The GPT-5.1 release confirms OpenAI’s strategy to compete on both pure computational strength and user experience. The push for conversational warmth and precise stylistic controls targets business adoption, where tone and brand voice matter.
The models roll out first to paid users (Pro, Plus, Go, Business) and then to free and logged-out users. Developers can expect the models in the API later this week, with GPT-5.1 Instant tagged as gpt-5.1-chat-latest and the Thinking model simply as GPT-5.1.
OpenAI recognises the need for a smooth migration path, stating that GPT-5 will remain accessible via a legacy dropdown for three months. This clear sunset period allows enterprises using the API time to evaluate performance metrics and adjust their applications to the new model series.