OpenAI introduced GPT-4.1 and GPT-4.1 Mini in April as the next evolution of its language models, following the GPT-4o series. Now, within just a month, these upgraded models have begun rolling out to ChatGPT, bringing enhanced performance and capabilities to a broader audience.
GPT-4.1 has garnered significant attention since its developer preview, particularly for its improved coding abilities and advanced instruction-following features. With this rollout, users subscribed to ChatGPT Plus, Pro, and Team plans can now benefit from the model’s enhanced performance—especially software developers, who will find it ideal for building web applications and tackling everyday programming tasks.
Meanwhile, GPT-4.1 Mini is set to replace GPT-4o Mini as the default model for free ChatGPT users. Despite its smaller scale, GPT-4.1 Mini offers notable improvements in processing speed and accuracy, upgrading the overall intelligence and responsiveness of the ChatGPT platform. This lightweight model is suited for day-to-day queries, follow-up tasks, and even coding—making it a versatile tool for a wide range of users.
OpenAI announced the rollout via a post on X (formerly Twitter), highlighting GPT-4.1’s coding efficiency and its speed advantage over previous models. The post described the model as “a great alternative to OpenAI o3 & o4-mini for everyday coding needs.”
A major enhancement across both models is their ability to handle up to 1 million context tokens, allowing them to process and retain far more information than their predecessors. This advancement makes them significantly more capable for long-form conversations and complex workflows.
Additionally, ChatGPT users now have access to a broader range of AI models via the dropdown selection menu, enabling them to choose the best model for specific tasks based on complexity and resource needs.
To access GPT-4.1, users need to subscribe to one of OpenAI’s paid tiers, which start at $20/month and go up to $200/month, depending on the plan. The ChatGPT Team plan is also available at $25/month per user, supporting collaborative access for teams of two or more.
