In 2025, OpenAI is working to counter the perception that it is losing ground in the AI race to Chinese competitors like DeepSeek. The company is strengthening its ties with Washington while pursuing an ambitious data center project and reportedly preparing for one of the largest funding rounds in history.

Figure 1. ChatGPT: Everything You Should Know About the AI-Powered Chatbot.

Below is a timeline of ChatGPT product updates and releases, starting with the most recent. We’ve been keeping this updated throughout the year. If you have any questions, check out our ChatGPT FAQ here. Figure 1 shows ChatGPT: Everything You Should Know About the AI-Powered Chatbot.

Timeline of the Most Recent ChatGPT Updates

• March 2025
• February 2025
• January 2025

March 2025

OpenAI Trains an AI ‘Really Good’ at Creative Writing

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced on X that the company has trained a "new model" excelling at creative writing. He shared a lengthy sample in response to the prompt: "Please write a metafictional literary short story about AI and grief."

While OpenAI has primarily focused on structured domains like math and programming, this marks a shift toward exploring AI-generated fiction. However, initial impressions suggest the model’s storytelling abilities may still have room for improvement.

OpenAI Launches New Tools to Help Businesses Build AI Agents

OpenAI has introduced new tools aimed at helping developers and businesses create AI agents—automated systems capable of independently completing tasks. These tools are part of OpenAI’s newly launched Responses API, allowing enterprises to build customized AI agents that can perform web searches, scan internal company files, and navigate websites, much like OpenAI’s Operator product.

The Responses API serves as a replacement for OpenAI’s Assistants API, which the company plans to phase out in the first half of 2026.

ChatGPT Can Directly Edit Your Code

The latest version of the macOS ChatGPT app now allows users to edit code directly within supported developer tools, including Xcode, VS Code, and JetBrains. Currently, this feature is available to ChatGPT Plus, Pro, and Team subscribers, with plans to expand access to Enterprise, Edu, and free users in the future.

ChatGPT’s Weekly Active Users Doubled in Less Than Six Months

A report from VC firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) highlights ChatGPT’s rapid growth in the latter half of 2024. While it took nine months to grow from 100 million weekly active users (November 2023) to 200 million (August 2024), the number doubled again in under six months, reaching 300 million by December 2024 and 400 million by February 2025.

This surge in adoption is largely attributed to new model releases and features, including GPT-4o with multimodal capabilities. A significant spike in usage occurred between April and May 2024, shortly after GPT-4o's launch.

February 2025

OpenAI Cancels o3 AI Model in Favor of a ‘Unified’ Next-Gen Release

OpenAI has scrapped plans to release its o3 AI model, opting instead for a “simplified” product strategy. CEO Sam Altman announced on X that OpenAI will launch GPT-5 in the coming months, integrating various technologies, including those from o3, into ChatGPT and its API. As a result, o3 will no longer be released as a standalone model.

ChatGPT May Not Be as Power-Hungry as Once Assumed

It’s often claimed that ChatGPT consumes around 3 watt-hours per query, but new research from Epoch AI, a nonprofit AI research institute, suggests otherwise. Their analysis of GPT-4o, ChatGPT’s latest default model, found that the average query only consumes about 0.3 watt-hours—significantly less than previously estimated. However, this figure does not account for additional energy usage from features like image generation or advanced input processing.

OpenAI Now Reveals More of o3-mini’s Thought Process

Facing competition from rivals like DeepSeek, OpenAI is enhancing how its o3-mini model communicates its reasoning. ChatGPT users will now see an improved “chain of thought” feature, offering a clearer breakdown of the model’s step-by-step reasoning process and how it arrives at answers.

You Can Now Use ChatGPT Web Search Without Logging In

OpenAI has made ChatGPT web search accessible without requiring login. Previously, users could ask ChatGPT questions without signing in, but responses were limited to the chatbot’s last training update. Now, web search is available directly on ChatGPT.com without login. However, using ChatGPT on mobile apps still requires signing in.

OpenAI Unveils a New ChatGPT Agent for ‘Deep Research’

OpenAI introduced a new AI agent designed for in-depth, complex research. The "deep research" agent helps users analyze and synthesize information from multiple sources instead of just providing quick answers or summaries. OpenAI positions this tool for users who need thorough, multi-step research assistance rather than simple responses.

OpenAI Tests Phone Number-Only ChatGPT Signups

OpenAI is testing a new phone number-only signup feature for ChatGPT, allowing users in the U.S. and India to create an account without an email. However, accounts created this way cannot be upgraded to a paid plan without email verification. Additionally, multi-factor authentication (MFA) is not supported for phone number-only signups. This feature is currently in beta testing.

OpenAI Delays ChatGPT’s New Voice Mode

OpenAI has postponed the rollout of its Advanced Voice Mode, originally set for a limited launch to ChatGPT Plus users in late June. Due to lingering technical issues, the release has been pushed to July, with a full rollout potentially delayed until fall 2025, depending on the completion of internal safety and reliability checks.

ChatGPT Releases macOS App

The ChatGPT app for macOS is now available to all users. With the app, users can quickly access ChatGPT using the keyboard shortcut Option + Space, upload files and images, engage in voice conversations, and search through their past chats—all directly from their desktop.

Source:TC

Cite this article:

Priyadharshini S (2025),”ChatGPT: All You Need to Know About The AI-Powered Chatbot", AnaTechmaz, pp. 228