OpenAI just gave ChatGPT users a huge free upgrade

ChatGPT 4.1 and 4.1 mini are now available
4.1 excels at coding, and is available for all paid subscribers
4.1 mini is free to use, and activates once you’ve reached your daily GPT-4o limit

ChatGPT just got a massive upgrade in the form of GPT-4.1 for paid subscribers and 4.1 mini for free users.

The rollout was announced by OpenAI on X, and the new models are available directly in ChatGPT starting today.

The company says GPT-4.1 is a “specialized model that excels at coding tasks & instruction following” while 4.1 mini replaces 4.0 mini and is a “fast, capable, and efficient small model.”

If you’re a ChatGPT Plus, Pro, or Team user, you can access these models from the ‘more models’ section. 4.1 mini will be activated for free users as a fallback model once you’ve reached your GPT-4o usage limits.

We’re yet to test either of these new models, but we’ll be putting them through their paces and giving you a full report on their performance over the coming days.

By popular request, GPT-4.1 will be available directly in ChatGPT starting today.GPT-4.1 is a specialized model that excels at coding tasks & instruction following. Because it’s faster, it’s a great alternative to OpenAI o3 & o4-mini for everyday coding needs.May 14, 2025

What’s in a name?

OpenAI’s naming scheme is getting increasingly difficult to understand, and while the company is expected to remove some options in the future for a more streamlined AI experience, as it stands it’s confusing when 4o is technically a more powerful model than 4.1 mini.

As ChatGPT becomes more and more popular, it also seems to be getting increasingly confusing. OpenAI needs to explain models in layman’s terms for the average consumer – at the moment the significance of new models can be lost on many users, because, outside of AI aficionados, no one knows what they mean.

Don’t get me wrong – these new models are aimed at a certain kind of person; but the company needs to do a better job of educating more users, and potential new users, by simplifying the naming structure.

Until then, we’re just going to have to grit our teeth and accept that 4o and 4.1 can co-exist with o3, and they all serve different purposes. Big sigh.

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