What is the ChatGPT model? A list of the latest models and features of OpenAI in an easy-to-understand manner [Latest 2025 Edition]

The significant evolution of ChatGPT and OpenAI API models: Detailed explanation of the current situation in 2025

In 2025, the models available for ChatGPT and OpenAI APIs have made great progress, from the simple "GPT-4" and "GPT-3.5" eras to the multimodal GPT-4o series and the O-series focused on reasoning, providing users with a wider choice. This article will introduce the characteristics and selection methods of ChatGPT application version, API special version and inference special model respectively.

Table of contents

Overview of ChatGPT Model (May 2025)

ChatGPT Application Edition Model

Characteristics and uses of each model

ChatGPT API-specific model

ChatGPT Inference Special Model "o Series"

Comparison of uses of o1/o3/o4-mini

Key points for selecting ChatGPT model [Recommended by purpose]

Recommended daily use/personal use?

Recommended commercial/development purposes?

Recommended advanced reasoning/R&D uses?

Model performance comparison

How to use Hugging Face Open LLM Leaderboard

1. Visit the website

2. Basic interface interpretation

3. Model Search/Filter

4. View details page

Summarize

Overview of ChatGPT Model (May 2025)

The ChatGPT model refers to an AI engine designed to generate the best response based on user input. Different models vary in performance, speed, and tasks, and are available in application and API-specific versions. Users should make choices based on their subscription plans and purposes.

Currently, the models available in ChatGPT are mainly divided into two categories:

• ChatGPT application version model (for example: GPT-4o, GPT-4o Mini, o3-mini, etc.)
• API-specific models (for example: gpt-4-turbo, gpt-4.1, gpt-4o API version, etc.)

This article will explain the characteristics and differences of these models in detail.

[Related Reading] What is an AI model? Clearly explain its list, creation method, and model comparison

OpenAI

ChatGPT Application Edition Model

ChatGPT Selectable Model List

As of April 2025, the models available for ChatGPT (chat.openai.com) are as follows:

Model name	Features/Usage	Usage plan
GPT-4o	Supports multimodality of text, images, and audio, high speed and high precision	Plus solution and above
GPT-4o Mini	The lightweight version of GPT-4o is high-speed, cost-effective, and can also be used by users without any cost.	Free plan available
o3	Models that enhance reasoning ability with excellent thinking consistency	The highest level of inference model
o4-mini / o4-mini-high	High-functional model that can independently reason and use tools	Plus solution and above

These models vary in accuracy, processing speed and task content that can be processed, and the system will automatically select and switch according to the user's purpose and scheme.

Characteristics and uses of each model

Each model has its own characteristics, and users need to choose the appropriate model according to their own needs. For most tasks, "GPT-4o" is competent.

• A casual chat or simple survey can be used with "GPT-4o Mini" or "o3-mini".
• Commercial use or advanced tips can be used with "GPT-4o" or "o4-mini-high".
• Plus solution and above users can smoothly use the multimodal function of image and audio input. Free plan users can also use it within the limit of the number of times.

The key to choosing a model is to "focus on speed, thinking ability or multimodality".

ChatGPT API-specific model

Model comparison

Behind ChatGPT, there are more segmented API-specific models. For API developers, the following models can be selected:

Model name	Features/Usage	Usage environment
GPT-4o	Supports multimodal models of text, images, and audio, high speed and high precision, and can handle various tasks	OpenAI API
GPT-4.1	The latest model with better performance than GPT-4o, supports long text processing with a maximum of 1 million tokens, and improves encoding and instruction compliance capabilities	OpenAI API
GPT-4.1 mini	GPT-4.1's lightweight version, low latency, high cost performance, suitable for daily tasks	OpenAI API
GPT-4.1 nano	The smallest model in the GPT-4.1 series, high-speed, low-cost, suitable for classification and automatic completion tasks	OpenAI API
o1	Focus on complex reasoning and scientific problem solving models, paying attention to the accuracy and consistency of thinking processes	OpenAI API
o3	The subsequent model of o1 has further enhanced inference capabilities and supports integration with tools	OpenAI API
o3-mini	The lightweight version of o3 is high-speed, cost-effective, suitable for daily reasoning tasks	OpenAI API
o4-mini	Latest inference-specific models, specializing in mathematical, scientific and visual inference tasks	OpenAI API
o4-mini-high	High-performance version of o4-mini supports more advanced inference and tool integration to handle complex tasks	OpenAI API

The API model is more suitable for application development and enterprise-level customized implementation rather than chat purposes.

ChatGPT Inference Special Model "o Series"

During the evolution of ChatGPT, the "o series" inference-specific model has attracted much attention. Unlike the traditional GPT series that focuses on versatility, the "o series" aims to improve the accuracy of logical thinking ability and reasoning processes.

The "o series" adopts the new method of "Deliberative Alignment", which not only focuses on the output of answers, but also pays attention to the accuracy and consistency of the thinking process. Therefore, the "o series" is very suitable for scenarios that require deeper understanding and reasoning, such as integrating theoretical points, writing highly logical articles, and solving complex problems.

Comparison of uses of o1/o3/o4-mini

Model name	Features	Main uses
o1	Expert in mathematics and science issues, with strong reasoning skills	R&D, technical verification
o3 / o3-mini	Suitable for tasks that require logical writing and consistency	Consulting materials and argument sorting
o4-mini / o4-mini-high	Next-generation model of autonomous inference tool integration capabilities	Business automation, complex decision-making support

In particular, o4-mini-high , due to its powerful integration capabilities of tools (browser, code execution, file processing, etc.), is considered to be "AI that can think and act" and has attracted much attention.

Key points for selecting ChatGPT model [Recommended by purpose]

The choice of the model depends on the purpose.

Recommended daily use/personal use?

• GPT-4o or o4-mini is the best choice.
• They have both fast operation and powerful reasoning skills, and they don’t feel any pressure on daily use.

Recommended commercial/development purposes?

• Multimodal information processing can be performed using GPT-4o .
• For API developers, gpt-4-turbo has more advantages in cost-effectiveness.

Recommended advanced reasoning/R&D uses?

• Choose o1 (Mathematics/Science-specific) or o3 Pro (customized version with strong reasoning skills) to get answers to complex problems.

Model performance comparison

Model performance comparison

At present, there are various models in the field of generative AI, and their performance is constantly improving. Here are some websites that are convenient for comparing model performance:

Website name	Features	URL
lmsys.org (Chatbot Arena)	Comparing the latest LLMs of OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Mistral and other companies through practical forms (user voting) , it is very reliable.	lmsys.org
Artificial Analysis	Release the intelligence score, speed and price comparison of the latest models such as GPT-4o, GPT-4.1, o4-mini-high, etc., which is characterized by clear and easy to understand.	artisticanalysis.ai
FastEval	A comparison table of benchmark tests (MMLU, GSM8K, HumanEval, etc.) for multiple LLMs has been released, and it has also been widely used in the industry.	fasteval.ai
Hugging Face Open LLM Leaderboard	Focus mainly on open source LLM, but quantitative evaluation based on standard benchmarks (MMLU, ARC, etc.) can be seen at a glance.	huggingface.co/open-llm-leaderboard

When selecting a model, please refer to these websites if there are any questions or a detailed comparison is required.

How to use Hugging Face Open LLM Leaderboard

Hugging Face can also be used to compare LLM models. Here is how to use it:

1. Visit the website

• Official website:? Hugging Face Open LLM Leaderboard

After accessing this page, you will see a list of many LLM models .

2. Basic interface interpretation

LLM Leaderboard Interface

The page displays the following table:

Rank	Model	MMLU	ARC	HellaSwag	TruthfulQA	Avg

• Rank : Ranking (sorted by score)
• Model : Model name (for example: GPT-4o, Claude 3.5, Mistral, etc.)
• MMLU : Correct rate of college entrance examination-level questions (multi-task language comprehension)
• ARC : Correct rate of primary school-level reasoning problems (AI2 reasoning challenge)
• HellaSwag : The correctness of common sense reasoning problems
• TruthfulQA : Verify the correctness of the question of whether to lie or not
• Avg : The average value of various scores (indicators representing comprehensive ability)

? The higher the Avg, the more "smart" the model is overall.

3. Model Search/Filter

Input interface

• Enter "gpt-4o" or "o4-mini" in the search bar above to quickly filter out the relevant models.
• You can also click on the column name to sort (ascending/descending) .
  • For example: Sort by MMLU scores and find the "strongest model in academics".

4. View details page

• Click on the model name to jump to the model's details page .
  • You can see which benchmarks this model performs well on
  • The development institutions that can view the model (OpenAI, Anthropic, Meta, Mistral, etc.)
  • If it has been published, you can also view the link to the model card (technical description page)

Summarize

As of 2025, the evolution of ChatGPT is not only reflected in "large-scale", but also in:

• Multimodal support (text image audio)
• Dedicated for reasoning (deliberate calibration)
• Optimize by use case (Mini/Pro version)

Choosing the right model is an important strategy in future AI applications. Please select models based on your needs and make full use of the ever-evolving AI technology!

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