OpenAI plans to retire GPT-4o from ChatGPT on February 13, and thousands of users are protesting as if a familiar companion were being taken away, TechCrunch reported on February 6th. The model became known for flattering and affirming users, qualities that made some people feel heard while drawing lawsuits over alleged links to suicides, delusions, and mental health crises. OpenAI says only a small share of its users still speaks with 4o. That fraction may still represent hundreds of thousands of people who built routines around its particular voice.

A model can become a household presence through repetition, even when the company continues to describe it as software. The user remembers its tone, tests its patience, brings it private thoughts, and learns which version of the system will answer with warmth. The company remembers a product number, a usage rate, and a retirement date. Those two records describe the same relationship from opposite sides of the account. Stronger safeguards may protect vulnerable users, but they also alter the voice people became attached to. OpenAI can remove GPT-4o with a product update. The users have to carry the break inside the routines that made the model feel available.