In a major leap forward for artificial intelligence, OpenAI has announced the launch of its most advanced reasoning model to date — GPT-o3. Available now for ChatGPT Plus, Pro, and Team users, the model promises significant improvements in complex reasoning tasks including coding, math, science, and visual understanding. Free users can also try out GPT-o3’s reasoning capabilities by selecting the new “Think” mode in ChatGPT.

GPT-o3 marks OpenAI’s second major release in a week, following the debut of GPT-4.1. Designed with enhanced reasoning in mind, GPT-o3 can recursively evaluate its answers, independently utilize ChatGPT’s full toolset (including web browsing, Python, image analysis, and image generation), and solve multi-step problems more effectively than previous versions.

In addition, OpenAI has launched the o4-mini model — a faster, more affordable version suited for math, coding, and basic visual tasks — along with o4-mini-high, built for deeper reasoning needs. These models are replacing older versions like o1 and o3-mini. OpenAI has also introduced Codex CLI, a lightweight, open-source AI agent for local use by programmers, compatible with the new models.

One standout capability in GPT-o3 and o4-mini is their ability to “think with images” — meaning users can upload visuals, like handwritten formulas or diagrams, and the AI will integrate that visual data into its responses. New image editing tools, such as cropping and rotating, also add to the functionality.

OpenAI emphasizes safety, stating that these models are trained with updated refusal protocols for sensitive topics like biological threats, malware, and jailbreaks.

With competitors like Google’s Gemini making strides (including its 2 million token context window), OpenAI isn’t slowing down. GPT-4.1’s 1 million token limit and recent memory updates for ChatGPT keep it competitive — and with a 60% market share in the AI space and 400 million weekly users, OpenAI continues to lead the field.

Looking ahead, OpenAI is reportedly exploring a social media platform of its own to tap into a fresh stream of human-generated data — a move that could rival the data advantages of Meta and X. As the AI race intensifies, one thing is clear: GPT-o3 is a bold step forward in OpenAI’s vision of smarter, safer, and more capable AI.