OpenAI Releases Its ‘More Conversational’ GPT-5.1

OpenAI dropped a mini-update to its model, releasing GPT-5.1 to the public. According to the company, the update will make its chatbot, ChatGPT, “smarter” and “more conversational,” introducing new styles of communicating and promising an improved ability to follow instructions. CEO Sam Altman called it “a nice upgrade.”

There are two versions of GPT-5.1 that will be made available to users, starting with paid ChatGPT users who will get the update starting today. There is GPT-5.1 Instant, which the company says will be its most-used model and promises that it is “now warmer, more intelligent, and better at following your instructions.” In a blog post, the company claimed that feedback from testing found that people were surprised by its “playfulness.”

The company is also deploying its advanced reasoning model, GPT-5.1 Thinking, which will supposedly offer responses that are “easier to understand and faster on simple tasks, more persistent on complex ones.” The company claims that it’ll burn fewer tokens on basic questions and, when it does get into the weeds with a more challenging prompt, it’ll provide the user with responses that are also “clearer, with less jargon and fewer undefined terms.” The company also said that even its Thinking mode will be “warmer and more empathetic.”

Either model will also be subject to more customization, allowing users to tweak the chatbot’s tone. With the release of GPT-5.1, OpenAI is also introducing new conversation styles called Professional, Candid, and Quirky—which join the existing styles Default, Friendly (formerly Listener), Efficient (formerly Robot), Cynical (formerly Cynic), and Nerdy (formerly Nerd). Those modes will be available across other models, as well. The company says it’s also experimenting with more granular control over ChatGPT’s personality in the future, beyond the preset modes, which can be adjusted in the personalization settings.

OpenAI seemed to suggest that GPT-5.1 is part of a larger planned shift to a more personalized experience with ChatGPT. “Today’s GPT‑5.1 updates and new customization options are a step toward a ChatGPT that feels like it fits you—smarter, more enjoyable to talk to, and more adaptable to your preferences. Going forward, we’ll continue improving along these dimensions—there’s much more to come,” it said.

That tracks with much of how OpenAI’s executives have been positioning ChatGPT in recent weeks. Altman now infamously decided to highlight generating erotica as an example of how the company is giving users more control over their ChatGPT experience, and OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar recently pointed to personalization as the next big frontier in chatbot technology.