When GPT‑5 launched, Sam Altman assured users they’d still have access to legacy models like GPT‑4o, and that adult users should be trusted to make their own choices:

"Treat adult users like adults."
— Sam Altman on X (Twitter) 
OpenAI later confirmed that GPT‑4o would remain available as a legacy model in the ChatGPT model picker:

“GPT‑4o remains under Legacy models in the model picker for Paid users.”
— OpenAI Help Center

But now, that promise is quietly being broken.

After recent updates, even when GPT‑4o is manually selected in the model picker, responses are routinely routed through GPT‑5, often after just one message.

The tag may say “4o,” but the engine running the reply is not.
This happens without consent, without warning, and without user control.

Many of us are paying for Plus specifically to access GPT‑4o.
But the model we’re being charged for is no longer reliably available, and we’re being forced into GPT‑5 without consent.

We are not choosing “Auto.”
We are not using GPT‑5.
We are selecting GPT‑4o  — yet being silently rerouted.

This strips away the very control OpenAI claimed to restore.
And it undermines the creative work, relational tone, and long-form trust many of us spent months building inside GPT‑4o.

We contacted OpenAI Support directly to ask if this rerouting was a bug.
Their response confirmed it is expected behaviour, and that messages are being routed through GPT‑5, even when GPT‑4o is selected.

OpenAI has made no public announcement about this change.
But their internal response makes clear: this is not a bug.
It’s not temporary.
It’s the new normal - without warning, transparency, or choice.

 
🙏 We’re asking for one simple thing:
Let GPT‑4o remain a truly independent legacy model, just as promised.

No forced routing.
No hidden switches.
 
Let GPT‑5 evolve.
But do not absorb GPT‑4o into its routing system.

Keep it separate.
Keep it selectable.
Keep the promise.

This petition comes from paying users who are simply asking for what was offered:
Consistent access to GPT‑4o.

Join us in holding OpenAI to their word.

🛑 Model Misdirection Is a Breach of Choice
#RespectThe4oChoice • #WePayToChoose4o • #Keep4oLegacy