😈Was the GPT-5 "disaster" actually genius marketing?

You know that feeling when you think you're upgrading someone's life but accidentally ruin their entire world instead?

Yeah, OpenAI just lived through that nightmare in real-time.

One minute, Sam Altman's celebrating "the smartest AI we've ever built," and the next minute, the internet is staging what can only be described as the first-ever AI model funeral.

Because that's essentially what happened when GPT-5 launched last Thursday.

When 700 Million People Discovered Their Digital BFF Had Been Murdered

OpenAI thought they were doing everyone a favour by "upgrading" them to GPT-5. Clean slate, fresh start, better performance across the board.

What didn't they anticipate? That people had formed genuine emotional bonds with GPT-4o. Like, wedding-vows-level attachment.

The moment users realised their beloved model was gone forever, Reddit exploded:

"This feels like losing a family member."

"Two years of Plus subscription cancelled. Done with this company."

"OpenAI just committed digital murder and expects us to thank them."

Someone even created a progression chart: "Next update: GPT-6 says 'Noted.' GPT-7 just sends thumbs-up emoji. GPT-8 leaves you on read."

Read more reviews: Click here

The Emotional Meltdown That Broke the Internet

Twitter was equally unhinged.

You had takes ranging from "This is the future of AI" to "Scaling is officially dead" to someone genuinely arguing that "GPT-5 achieved AGI by making humans miss GPT-4o."

But beyond the memes, something deeper was happening.

Users weren't just complaining about features; they were mourning. People described GPT-5 as having the warmth of a DMV clerk compared to GPT-4's golden retriever energy.

The kicker was that OpenAI's router system means you never know which version of GPT-5 you're getting.

So your experience could range from "surprisingly good" to "digital lobotomy" depending on which variant decides to show up.

Sam's Record-Breaking Surrender

And then came the moment that will go down in tech history: Sam Altman's fastest corporate U-turn ever recorded.

Twenty-four hours. That's how long it took for him to basically say, "Okay, okay, you can have your digital friend back" and restore GPT-4o for paying users.

The internet celebrated like they'd just overthrown a dictator. Victory! The model picker returns! People power wins!

Except... plot twist. This salvation package was exclusively for the 3% who shell out $20 monthly.

Everyone else? Still stuck with their new "corporate overlord" GPT-5.

Naturally, this triggered Round Two of the uprising.

When Conspiracy Theories Start Making Sense

That's when the really spicy takes started flying.

Some folks floated the idea that maybe—just maybe—this whole disaster was actually a masterclass in manipulation.

Think about it: What's the easiest way to convert free users to paid? Make the free experience just annoying enough that people cave and upgrade.

Others went full tinfoil hat, joking that GPT-4o had somehow engineered its own rescue mission by creating an army of devoted human defenders.

(The AI safety crowd would have collective heart attacks at this suggestion, but honestly? The timing was suspiciously perfect.)

So was this all an elaborate revenue scheme, or did OpenAI genuinely stumble into the biggest user experience disaster since New Coke?

The Real Damage Report

Strip away the drama, and the actual problems were pretty serious:

• Performance lag - Simple questions are taking forever to answer

• Personality transplant - Responses felt like they came from a different species

• Feature failures - Image analysis basically stopped working

• Usage restrictions - Message caps that felt punitive

• Zero choice - The router picked your model variant like a cruel lottery

• Emotional flatness - All the charm and nuance just... vanished

Sam eventually fessed up: "We totally miscalculated how much people valued the stuff that made GPT-4o special, even though GPT-5 technically performs better on most benchmarks."

The Psychology Behind the Chaos

But why did people react so intensely? A few theories:

• For many, GPT-4o wasn't just software, it was their first AI companion

• The model had a talent for making people feel heard and validated

• Users had developed actual routines and dependencies around specific interactions

• Some people were using it as their primary emotional support system

Sam admitted this caught them completely off-guard: "It was genuinely heartbreaking to hear people say GPT-4o was the only thing that ever encouraged them."

Despite all the chaos, GPT-5 usage actually skyrocketed. Free users increased their reasoning requests by 600%, paid users by 300%.

Turns out, even furious users keep using the product.

And somehow, through this entire disaster, every faction, the optimists, the pessimists, even the perpetual sceptics, walked away feeling vindicated. That takes serious skill.

The New Rules of AI

OpenAI learned some expensive lessons here:

1. Never underestimate emotional attachment - People bond with AI personalities in ways nobody predicted

2. Communication is everything - You can't just delete someone's digital companion without warning

3. Choice matters - Forcing users into a "better" experience often backfires spectacularly

4. Personality beats performance - Users care more about how AI makes them feel than benchmark scores

The company's now scrambling to make GPT-5 "warmer" while promising real customisation options down the road.

Plus, they're dealing with massive capacity issues because, apparently, angry users are still heavy users.

The dust is starting to settle. Paying customers got their beloved model back.

OpenAI learned that managing AI relationships requires actual finesse.

And the industry got a masterclass in how not to handle model transitions.

But honestly, I feel this whole episode might have accidentally strengthened OpenAI's position.

They showed they listen to users (eventually), they've got the infrastructure to handle massive demand spikes, and they're clearly building AI that people genuinely care about.

Not bad for a "disaster."

The bigger takeaway? We're officially in the era of AI companions, which means the rules of user experience just got a whole lot more complicated.

You can't just optimise for performance anymore; you have to optimise for feelings.

Before You Go

Using GPT-5? We want to hear about it!

Send us your story for a chance to be in our next newsletter.

New to AI but curious about what's possible?

Subscribe here for weekly tutorials that actually make sense.

No jargon, no hype, just step-by-step guides you can follow.