OpenAI Rolls Out GPT-5.1 with Adaptive Thinking and Enhanced ChatGPT Personalization

November 12, 2025

Details

  • Sam Altman announced the public release of GPT-5.1 on 2025-11-12, describing it as a "nice upgrade."
  • The upgrade introduces stronger instruction-following and a new "adaptive thinking" loop that continually revisits user context during conversations.
  • Users are experiencing smoother stylistic flow and reduced hallucinations compared to the July 2025 GP-5.0 release.
  • ChatGPT now includes six preset personas—Default, Friendly, Efficient, Professional, Candid, Quirky—and lets advanced users adjust temperature, verbosity, and tone.
  • Rollout starts today for ChatGPT Plus, Team, and Enterprise users, with API access to gpt-5.1-turbo available to developers within 48 hours.
  • Pricing and token limits are unchanged, framing this as a steady model improvement rather than a dramatic system overhaul.

Impact

This release closely follows Anthropic's Claude 4.2 and signals a stepped-up battle in the premium chatbot market. By offering easy-to-use personas, OpenAI makes advanced customization accessible to non-technical businesses and prepares for regulatory demands around AI transparency and control. Rivals like Google and Meta will likely be pressured to launch equally user-friendly controls to maintain their competitive edge in 2026.

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