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- Which ChatGPT Model Should You Click? Here’s the Cheat Sheet
Which ChatGPT Model Should You Click? Here’s the Cheat Sheet
A one-page guide to GPT-4o, 4.5, o3, o4-mini, and when each shines.
Dr. Hernani Costa
May 16, 2025
Good morning, Movers! A slow news day is the perfect excuse to answer the inbox-bursting question we all have: “Which model do I pick in that ever-growing dropdown?” Today’s special edition walks you through OpenAI’s own guidance, pares it down to plain English, and gives you a three-step shortcut you can use the next time the selector stares back at you.
Why This Matters
ChatGPT is no niche toy—usage just crossed 800 million weekly active users in May 2025, doubling since February. Yet even power users admit the menu feels like a prank. OpenAI’s Sam Altman says the company “deserves to be mocked” for model names and promises a fix by summer.
Until then, here’s the decoder ring.
What OpenAI Says (and What It Really Means)
Model | OpenAI’s headline | Translation | Use it for… |
|---|---|---|---|
GPT-4o | “Everyday tasks, fully multimodal” | The workhorse. Fast, cheap, sees images. | Meeting summaries, quick email drafts, snapping a photo of white-board notes and asking for bullet points. |
GPT-4.5 | “Ideal for creative tasks; emotional intelligence” | The wordsmith. Better tone, more flair. | LinkedIn posts, marketing copy, customer-service macros with empathy. |
o3 (OpenAI o3) | “Complex, multi-step reasoning” | The strategist. Thinks through plans and data. | Financial models, go-to-market roadmaps, deep-research reports. |
o4-mini / o4-mini-high | “Fast technical tasks” / “Detailed technical tasks” | The coder duo. Same brain, different depth. | Bug fixes, SQL generation, STEM homework (mini) or longer explanations & proofs (mini-high). |
o1-pro (legacy) | “Takes longer, highest accuracy” | The litigator. Slow but meticulous. | Regulatory filings, 50-page risk memos, anything where one mistake costs money. |
Rule of Three:
Boring & repetitive? → 4o
Words people will read? → 4.5
Thinking hard or many steps? → o3
(If it’s code-heavy, swap in o4-mini. If it’s life-or-death accuracy, reach for o1-pro.)
Real-World Cheats
Solo-preneur: Draft a newsletter in 4.5, but let 4o churn out meeting summaries and invoice emails.
SME marketing team: Use 4.5 for campaign copy; use 4o to slice call transcripts into CRM notes.
Data-ops crew: Feed log files to o4-mini for quick regex fixes; escalate thorny SQL tuning to o4-mini-high.
Enterprise strategy group: Brainstorm a three-year AI roadmap in o3, then polish the exec-summary paragraph with 4.5.
Legal department: Reserve rare o1-pro runs for that 40-page EU DSA impact assessment.
Quick FAQ
You might ask: “Isn’t 4.5 always better than 4o?”
Only for writing quality. 4o is faster, cheaper, and multimodal. Don’t waste 4.5 credits on rote summaries.
“Why does 4o sometimes outperform 4.5 in brainstorming?”
That’s because structured brainstorming (e.g., “create a table of risks”) leans on reasoning more than prose. Use o3 or even 4o, then let 4.5 refine wording.
“What about agents and tool use?”
Agents need low-latency calls and knowledge of tools—most frameworks default to o4-mini or 4o. Tune later.
Takeaway
Until OpenAI renames things, think Workhorse (4o), Wordsmith (4.5), Strategist (o3)—and keep this cheat sheet pinned. Your productivity will thank you.
Thanks for reading this focus issue! If you found the guide handy, forward it to a teammate who’s still puzzling over “o4-mini-high.” Got a follow-up question? Hit reply—I read every note.
Catch you tomorrow with the regular multi-story edition.
— Dr. Hernani Costa • First AI Movers Pro
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