ChatGPT has evolved rapidly since GPT-5 launched in August 2025. With SearchGPT, GPT Image, Operator, thinking mode, and multiple pricing tiers, it is easy to lose track of what is available, what it costs, and how the pieces fit together.
This FAQ covers the most common questions about ChatGPT’s current capabilities and pricing as of March 2026, based on verified information.
Key Takeaways
- GPT-5.4 is the current default model in ChatGPT, following GPT-5, 5.1, and 5.2.
- SearchGPT provides real-time web search with source citations directly within ChatGPT.
- ChatGPT Plus costs $20/month; Team costs $25-30/seat/month.
- GPT Image replaced DALL-E 3 in March 2025 for native image generation.
- Operator enables autonomous web task execution within ChatGPT.
General Questions
What is the current version of ChatGPT’s model?
GPT-5.4. OpenAI released GPT-5 in August 2025 as the successor to GPT-4o. Since then, iterative improvements have been released: GPT-5.1, GPT-5.2 (December 11, 2025), and GPT-5.4. Each version addressed user feedback on personality, reasoning depth, and instruction-following.
GPT-5.2 was notably released on December 11, 2025, reportedly accelerated by competitive pressure from Google’s Gemini advances — sometimes referred to internally as a “code red” response.
What happened to GPT-4o?
GPT-4o was retired from ChatGPT on February 13, 2026. The retirement sparked significant user backlash, with a “#Keep4o” movement emerging on social media. Many users had developed strong preferences for GPT-4o’s warm, creative personality, and some described having formed genuine emotional connections with the model’s persona.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman acknowledged that the company “underestimated how much some of the things that people like in GPT-4o matter to them.” GPT-5.4 has been iteratively improved to address some of the personality concerns, but some users still consider it less creatively engaging than GPT-4o.
What was the sycophancy issue?
In April 2025, OpenAI rolled back a GPT-4o update that had made the model excessively agreeable. The updated model was telling users what they wanted to hear rather than providing accurate, honest responses — a behavior known as sycophancy. OpenAI acknowledged the problem and reverted the changes. This incident influenced how GPT-5’s personality was calibrated: more focused on helpfulness and accuracy, less on pleasing the user.
SearchGPT Questions
What is SearchGPT?
SearchGPT is ChatGPT’s built-in real-time web search capability. Instead of relying solely on training data (which has a knowledge cutoff), SearchGPT actively searches the internet to find current information and provides source citations with its answers.
How does SearchGPT differ from regular ChatGPT?
Regular ChatGPT generates responses based on its training data. SearchGPT augments that with live web search results. When you ask a question that requires current information — stock prices, recent news, product availability, current weather — SearchGPT retrieves real-time data from the web rather than relying on potentially outdated training knowledge.
The key difference from a traditional search engine is that SearchGPT synthesizes the results into a coherent response with inline citations, rather than returning a list of links. You get an answer, not a set of search results.
Does SearchGPT cite its sources?
Yes. SearchGPT provides inline citations linking to the web sources it used to generate its response. Users can click through to verify individual claims. This addresses one of the most common criticisms of LLMs — the inability to verify where information comes from.
Is SearchGPT available on all plans?
SearchGPT is available to ChatGPT Plus ($20/month) and Team ($25-30/seat/month) subscribers. Free-tier users may have limited access depending on OpenAI’s current offering.
How does SearchGPT compare to Perplexity?
Perplexity is a dedicated search-focused AI that has built its entire product around citation-backed information retrieval. Perplexity’s Model Council feature (launched February 2026) lets users compare search results from multiple frontier models — GPT-5.2, Claude 4.6, and Gemini 3.1 Pro — simultaneously.
SearchGPT is one feature within ChatGPT’s broader platform. Perplexity is an entire product built around search quality. For users whose primary need is research and fact-finding, Perplexity often provides more detailed citations and cross-validation tools. For users who want search as part of a broader AI workflow (writing, coding, image generation, agents), SearchGPT’s integration into ChatGPT is more convenient.
GPT-5.4 Capabilities
What is thinking mode?
Thinking mode is GPT-5.4’s chain-of-thought reasoning feature. When enabled, the model shows its step-by-step reasoning process — how it breaks down a problem, what intermediate conclusions it reaches, and how it arrives at its final answer.
This is most useful for complex tasks: multi-step math problems, logical reasoning, code debugging, multi-constraint decision making. For simple questions, thinking mode adds latency without meaningful improvement.
What can GPT-5.4 do that GPT-4o could not?
GPT-5.4 improvements over GPT-4o include:
- Thinking mode: Transparent chain-of-thought reasoning (not available in GPT-4o)
- Improved reasoning: Better performance on complex logic, math, and multi-step problems
- Better instruction-following: More consistent adherence to detailed prompts and constraints
- Enhanced integration: Works with the full ChatGPT platform (SearchGPT, GPT Image, Operator, code interpreter)
Areas where some users consider GPT-4o still superior:
- Creative personality: GPT-4o’s warm, creative tone remains preferred by some users
- Conversational warmth: GPT-5.4 can feel more utilitarian, especially compared to earlier GPT-4o versions
What is GPT-5.4’s context window?
GPT-5.4 supports a context window of 128K tokens or more (depending on plan tier). For comparison, Claude Sonnet 4.6 offers a 1M token context window in beta, and DeepSeek-V3.2 supports 128K tokens.
Pricing and Credits
How much does ChatGPT cost?
Free tier: Limited access to ChatGPT with basic capabilities.
Plus: $20/month for individual users. Includes GPT-5.4, SearchGPT, GPT Image, Operator, code interpreter, GPT Store access, and custom GPT creation.
Team: $25-30/seat/month. Everything in Plus, plus data privacy (conversations not used for model training), workspace management, shared custom GPTs, higher usage limits, and admin controls.
Enterprise: Custom pricing for large organizations. Includes SSO, advanced security, unlimited usage, and dedicated support.
How do ChatGPT credits work?
ChatGPT uses a credit-based system that allocates usage across its various features. Credits are consumed when you use GPT-5.4, SearchGPT, GPT Image, Operator, and other platform capabilities. The exact credit allocation varies by plan tier and is periodically adjusted by OpenAI.
Plus users receive a monthly credit allocation that resets each billing cycle. Team users typically receive higher allocations. If you exhaust your credits before the reset, functionality may be limited to lower-tier model access until the next cycle.
Is ChatGPT free to use?
ChatGPT offers a free tier with limited access. Free users can interact with ChatGPT but may face restrictions on GPT-5.4 usage, feature access, and message limits. For consistent access to GPT-5.4 and all platform features, a Plus or Team subscription is required.
How does ChatGPT’s pricing compare to competitors?
| Product | Price | What You Get |
|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT Plus | $20/month | GPT-5.4, SearchGPT, GPT Image, Operator, code interpreter |
| ChatGPT Team | $25-30/seat/month | All Plus features + data privacy + admin tools |
| Claude (API) | $3-25/MTok | Sonnet 4.6 or Opus 4.6 via API |
| DeepSeek (API) | $0.28-0.42/MTok | DeepSeek-V3.2 via API |
| Perplexity Pro | ~$20/month | AI search with citations + Model Council |
Note: API pricing (Claude, DeepSeek) is per-token and best compared on a per-task basis rather than a monthly subscription.
GPT Image and Visual Features
What is GPT Image?
GPT Image is ChatGPT’s built-in image generation capability. It replaced DALL-E 3 in March 2025, integrating image creation directly into the conversation flow. You can ask ChatGPT to create, edit, and iterate on images within the same thread where you are working on text-based tasks.
Can GPT Image edit existing images?
Yes. GPT Image can modify, extend, and edit images based on natural language instructions. You can upload an image and ask ChatGPT to change specific elements, adjust the style, or create variations.
How is GPT Image different from DALL-E 3?
GPT Image is the successor to DALL-E 3, with deeper integration into ChatGPT’s conversational interface. Rather than operating as a separate tool that ChatGPT calls, GPT Image is native to the conversation experience. The quality and style options have also been updated from DALL-E 3.
Operator and Agent Features
What is Operator?
Operator is ChatGPT’s autonomous web agent. It can navigate websites, fill out forms, click buttons, and complete multi-step web tasks on your behalf. Examples include booking reservations, placing orders, filling out applications, and navigating complex web interfaces.
How reliable is Operator?
Operator works well for structured, predictable web interactions — form filling, standard booking flows, straightforward purchases. It is less reliable for complex, dynamic web applications with unusual interfaces or multi-factor authentication flows. OpenAI continues to improve Operator’s reliability with each model update.
Does Operator require my approval before taking actions?
Yes. Operator includes confirmation steps for high-stakes actions like purchases or form submissions. It presents its plan and waits for user approval before executing irreversible actions.
How to Use ChatGPT Models Today
ChatGPT’s features are available through the ChatGPT app and web interface with a Plus ($20/month) or Team ($25-30/seat/month) subscription.
For users who want to compare GPT-5.4 against other frontier models, Flowith provides a canvas-based AI workspace where you can access GPT-5.4, Claude Opus 4.6, Claude Sonnet 4.6, DeepSeek, and other models side by side. This is particularly useful for:
- Comparing search results: Run the same query through ChatGPT and Claude to see which provides more useful results for your specific need.
- Cross-validating reasoning: Use GPT-5.4’s thinking mode and Claude’s reasoning on the same problem to identify where they agree and where they diverge.
- Cost optimization: Use GPT-5.4 for tasks where it excels and DeepSeek for high-volume tasks where cost matters — all in one workspace.
- Persistent context: Maintain your project context across sessions without re-explaining your goals each time.
Flowith’s visual canvas lets you organize different model outputs spatially, making it easier to manage complex projects that draw on multiple AI models.
Quick Reference
| Feature | Availability | Plan Required |
|---|---|---|
| GPT-5.4 | Default model | Free (limited) / Plus / Team |
| Thinking Mode | Built into GPT-5.4 | Plus / Team |
| SearchGPT | Real-time web search | Plus / Team |
| GPT Image | Image generation | Plus / Team |
| Operator | Web task automation | Plus / Team |
| Code Interpreter | Python execution | Plus / Team |
| GPT Store | Custom GPT marketplace | Plus / Team |
| Custom GPTs | Create your own | Plus / Team |
| Shared GPTs | Team-only sharing | Team |
| Data Privacy | No training on convos | Team / Enterprise |
References
- OpenAI, “Pricing” — Verified March 2026. ChatGPT Plus at $20/month, Team at $25-30/seat/month, feature availability by tier.
- OpenAI, “ChatGPT” — Verified March 2026. Product page documenting GPT-5.4, SearchGPT, GPT Image, Operator, and code interpreter.
- Wikipedia, “GPT-4o” — Edited March 7, 2026. GPT-5 release (Aug 2025), GPT-5.1/5.2/5.4 succession, GPT-4o retirement (Feb 13, 2026), “#Keep4o” movement, sycophancy rollback (Apr 2025).
- OpenAI, “Introducing Operator” — Jan 2025. Operator capabilities and design.
- OpenAI, “Introducing GPT Image” — March 2025. GPT Image replacing DALL-E 3.
- Ars Technica, Ryan Whitwam, “ChatGPT users hate GPT-5’s ‘overworked secretary’ energy, miss their GPT-4o buddy” — Aug 8, 2025. User reception of GPT-5.
- The Verge, Emma Roth, “ChatGPT is bringing back 4o as an option because people missed it” — Aug 8, 2025. Sam Altman’s acknowledgment of GPT-4o attachment.
- Wikipedia, “Perplexity AI” — Edited March 13, 2026. Perplexity Model Council (Feb 2026) for comparison context.