##  [The "Low-Key" emotional ChatGPT release from OpenAI](/index.php/node/120) 

    *Submitted by Lennart on Thu, 13 Nov 2025 - 08:51*  

 OpenAI has quietly released an update to their ChatGPT.

**Executive summary about GPT 5.1:**

It's described as being "smarter", "safer" and "more conversational."

**Variants:**

- **GPT 5.1 Instant:** This is the default response model, similar to what you get when you don't enable special "thinking" modes.
- **GPT 5.1 Thinking:** This is the "reasoning model."

**Features:**

- **Warmer/Higher EQ:** OpenAI is positioning GPT 5.1 as "warmer," meaning it has a higher emotional quotient (EQ). Users can choose from different "tones".
- **Better Instruction Following:** OpenAI states it's better at following instructions.
- **Faster (GPT 5.1 Instant):** The "instant" version is described as faster. GPT 5.1 spends less time on easy tasks and more time on harder tasks.
- **Safe Chatbot:** According to internal tests at OpenAI, the new models are safer than predecessors.

**Overall Assessment:**

- **Decent, but not groundbreaking:** The speaker considers it a "decent release" but "nothing fancy." They even suggest it could have been a silent API update without much notice.
- **Potential Impact:** It's not expected to drastically impact many people's lives but could be helpful for those running chatbots for customer support.
- **Filling Gaps:** The overarching theme is that GPT 5.1 is designed to fill the perceived gaps and shortcomings of GPT-4o and its predecessors.

[GPT-5.1 Instant and GPT-5.1 Thinking System Card Addendum | OpenAI](https://openai.com/index/gpt-5-system-card-addendum-gpt-5-1/)