According to Cointelegraph, the release of ChatGPT-5 has sparked a wave of negative feedback from users across social media platforms. Many have expressed dissatisfaction with the latest model, claiming it was overhyped by OpenAI CEO and co-founder Sam Altman. Users on Reddit have criticized the ChatGPT-5 model for its restrictive rate limits and the inability to switch back to previous AI models, leading some to consider switching to alternative AI platforms. In response to the feedback, Altman addressed the concerns in a post on X, stating, "We are going to double GPT-5 rate limits for ChatGPT Plus users as we finish rollout. We will let Plus users choose to continue to use 4o. We will watch usage as we think about how long to offer legacy models for." Altman described GPT-5 as "a major upgrade over GPT-4" and a "significant step" towards achieving artificial general intelligence (AGI) during the official rollout on Thursday.
The criticism of ChatGPT-5 comes at a time when competition from open-weighted, open-source, and decentralized AI platforms is intensifying. These platforms, which are less capital-intensive, are gradually capturing market share from large, centralized players in the consumer AI sector. One such competitor, DeepSeek, an artificial intelligence company, launched a new open-weighted large-language model called Prover V2 in April, specifically designed for mathematical applications. Open-weight AI models offer users the ability to download and use the software, although they do not provide access to critical aspects like training data. This level of transparency is less than that of full open-source code, where users have complete access to the codebase and can reproduce the software entirely. However, open-weight software is still more transparent than centralized models, which keep the code hidden from users.
DeepSeek also released an upgrade of its general-purpose open-weighted AI model, DeepSeek R1, in May. The updated version, DeepSeek R1-0528, reportedly performed on par with leading AI models, including OpenAI-o3, according to company benchmarks. Since its launch in January, the DeepSeek app has been downloaded over 75 million times, as reported by Business of Apps. This growing competition highlights the shifting dynamics in the AI industry, where decentralized and open-weighted models are increasingly challenging the dominance of established players like OpenAI.