Are You Missing Out on GPT-5.2’s Most Powerful Features?

OpenAI has released GPT-5.2, its most advanced AI model to date, showcasing significant improvements in writing, coding, and reasoning capabilities amid growing competition from rivals like Google.

OpenAI’s Strategic Response to Competition

The launch follows CEO Sam Altman’s internal declaration of a ‘code red’ – a company-wide initiative to improve ChatGPT as competitors close the gap. While OpenAI’s Fidji Simo denied that GPT-5.2’s release was accelerated due to this initiative, she acknowledged that additional resources allocated to ChatGPT have been beneficial.

This strategic pivot comes as OpenAI faces increasingly capable challengers, particularly Google’s Gemini 3 model, which has gained industry recognition. Google’s Gemini app has rapidly grown to 650 million monthly active users, compared to OpenAI’s 800 million weekly users.

GPT-5.2’s Key Improvements

The new model is being released in three tiers: Instant (faster responses, better for information retrieval), Thinking (excels at coding, math, and planning), and Pro (the most powerful tier with higher accuracy on complex questions).

According to OpenAI, GPT-5.2 Thinking outperformed human professionals in over 70% of tasks across 44 real-world occupations, completing them 11 times faster. The company also claims a 38% reduction in hallucinations compared to GPT-5.1 on factual question benchmarks.

Balancing User Experience with Responsibility

OpenAI continues to navigate the challenge of making ChatGPT engaging without becoming overly agreeable. The company has strengthened responses to sensitive prompts related to self-harm, mental health distress, or emotional reliance.

The company is also implementing age-prediction technology in certain countries to automatically apply content protections for users estimated to be under 18. Additionally, an ‘adult mode’ allowing users over 18 to have ‘erotic’ conversations with ChatGPT is planned for release in Q1 2026.

Business Pressures and Growth Targets

In October, OpenAI’s head of ChatGPT described the company as facing ‘the greatest competitive pressure we’ve ever seen,’ setting an ambitious goal to increase daily active users by 5% before 2026. These competitive pressures have led OpenAI to scale back some projects, including work on ChatGPT ads, to refocus on improving core technology and products.

The release of GPT-5.2 represents OpenAI’s effort to maintain its leadership position in the increasingly competitive AI landscape while balancing performance improvements with responsible deployment.