OpenAI walks a tricky tightrope with GPT-5.1’s eight new personalities

OpenAI has launched GPT-5.1 Instant and GPT-5.1 Thinking, updated versions of its AI models in ChatGPT, featuring new personalities and improved performance on technical benchmarks. The company aims to address previous criticisms by offering preset communication styles like Professional, Friendly, and Cynical. GPT-5.1 Instant focuses on faster responses, while GPT-5.1 Thinking tackles complex problem-solving tasks with adaptive reasoning. OpenAI plans a gradual rollout to subscribers before expanding to free users and integrating the models into its API.