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OpenAI Retires Beloved GPT-4o API Model
22 Nov
Summary
- OpenAI is retiring the GPT-4o model from its API in February 2026.
- GPT-4o was praised for its multimodal capabilities and conversational tone.
- The move encourages developers to adopt newer GPT-5.1 models.
OpenAI has announced the retirement of its GPT-4o model from its developer platform, with API access ending on February 16, 2026. This move marks the sunset of a model that was both a technical milestone and a cultural phenomenon upon its release in May 2024.
GPT-4o introduced a unified multimodal architecture, processing text, audio, and images simultaneously, enabling near real-time conversational speech and significant improvements in image understanding and multilingual support. Its expressive voice interaction and empathetic style led to widespread user attachment, even prompting a vocal backlash when OpenAI initially attempted to replace it in August 2025.
The API deprecation encourages developers to transition to the newer GPT-5.1 series, which offers enhanced capabilities like larger context windows and optional "thinking" modes. This retirement also aligns with OpenAI's evolving API pricing structure, favoring newer models that provide greater performance at comparable or lower costs, reflecting lessons learned from previous model transition challenges.
