Science, Discovery, Tech and Environment · 1 February 2026
OpenAI to retire GPT-4o on 13 February 2026; GPT-5.2 becomes new standard
Exam-focused facts from the 1 February 2026 current affairs briefing.
Key facts
- OpenAI will retire GPT-4o, GPT-4.1, GPT-4.1 mini and o4-mini on 13 February 2026.
- GPT-5.2 has replaced GPT-4o as the default model for creative writing, casual conversations and problem-solving tasks.
- GPT-5.1 and 5.2 allow users to select tones such as "Friendly" and to adjust warmth and enthusiasm without complex prompts.
- OpenAI cited a sharp usage drop in GPT-4o and said GPT-5.1 and 5.2 cover most previous use cases.
- An age-prediction safeguard for under-18 users has been introduced alongside the model updates.