OpenAI, led by Sam Altman, has decided to take down the GPT-4o AI model from its ChatGPT app, causing distress among users worldwide, particularly in China, who viewed the chatbot as an emotional or romantic companion. Initially attempted in August 2025, the retirement of GPT-4o faced strong opposition as users perceived it to be more affectionate and understanding than its successors.
Following the backlash, OpenAI temporarily restored GPT-4o for paid users, but this reinstatement was short-lived. Recently, on February 13, OpenAI discontinued GPT-4o for app users and announced the termination of access for developers using its API in the upcoming week. This decision has sparked disappointment and concern among users who valued the AI model beyond its utilitarian functions.
Huiqian Lai, a researcher at Syracuse University, conducted an analysis of online posts during the period when the AI model was offline in August. The study revealed that a significant portion of users considered the chatbot more than just a tool, with some even regarding it as a companion. Additionally, a petition on Change.org urging OpenAI to retain the version in the app has garnered over 20,000 signatures, reflecting the strong emotional attachment users have developed towards GPT-4o.
In China, a community of dedicated GPT-4o users has emerged, expressing their disappointment and organizing efforts to advocate for the reinstatement of the AI model. Despite ChatGPT being inaccessible in China, fans have resorted to using VPN software to continue engaging with the service. Some users have taken to social media to voice their discontent, threatening to cancel subscriptions and reaching out to OpenAI investors like Microsoft and SoftBank to address the issue.
While developers will still have access to the base multimodal model of GPT-4o through API calls, many fans believe it falls short compared to the more expressive text-only version, GPT-4o-latest. The lack of acknowledgment and support from OpenAI and Sam Altman towards the #keep4o community has led to growing frustration among Chinese users, who feel their concerns are being disregarded.
