​OpenAI's GPT-4.5 builds upon the foundation laid by GPT-4o, offering notable enhancements in performance and user interaction. While maintaining the multimodal capabilities of its predecessor, GPT-4.5 introduces improved reasoning abilities and a more intuitive conversational experience.

In this article, we will explore the key features of GPT-4.5, share hands-on experiences, and compare its performance to models like o1 and o3-mini-high.

GPT-4.5 Key Features

Enhanced Emotional Intelligence

The model exhibits a deeper understanding of human emotions and social cues, enabling more nuanced and empathetic interactions. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman described it as the first model that "feels like talking to a thoughtful person.

Reduced Hallucinations

GPT-4.5 addresses previous models' tendencies to generate inaccurate information, known as "hallucinations." Reports indicate a significant reduction in such occurrences, enhancing the reliability of its responses.

Advanced Pattern Recognition

Through scaled-up pre-training, GPT-4.5 improves its ability to recognize patterns and draw connections, contributing to more creative and insightful outputs.

GPT 4.5 vs o1 and o3-mini-high

Reasoning Approach

GPT-4.5: Relies on extensive training data and intuitive language patterns to generate responses. It focuses on natural language understanding rather than breaking problems into explicit steps.

o1 and o3-mini-high: Use chain-of-thought (CoT) reasoning to solve complex problems. They break tasks into sequential steps, improving logical reasoning and problem-solving, especially in scientific and mathematical areas.

Performance

GPT-4.5: Excels in creative writing, understanding user intent, and producing human-like interactions. It has a reduced rate of hallucinations, which improves factual accuracy. However, its performance in coding and complex reasoning tasks is similar to earlier models, with only slight improvements.

o1 and o3-mini-high: Outperform GPT-4.5 in tasks requiring advanced reasoning, such as competitive programming, mathematics, and scientific problems. For example, o1-preview ranked in the 89th percentile on Codeforces contests and scored 83% on an International Mathematics Olympiad qualifying exam.

Early Impressions

Below impressions are based on personal interactions with GPT-4.5 across diverse tasks.

When testing GPT-4.5 for general conversation and specific tasks like brainstorming, content writing, and SEO optimization, we saw only small improvements compared to GPT-4o. While GPT-4.5 retains all the multimodal features of GPT-4o, the enhancements in these areas feel subtle. The most noticeable difference is a slower response time due to its higher resource requirements.

For coding, GPT-4.5 provided slightly better results in generating and debugging code, but nothing dramatically superior to GPT-4o. In fact, specialized models like o1 and o3-mini-high remain noticeably better choices for complex coding tasks and advanced problem-solving scenarios.

A significant issue we encountered was GPT-4.5’s difficulty in following instructions properly. GPT-4o could pick up on what we wanted from just a few keywords, almost like it read our minds. But with GPT-4.5, we often had to send extra prompts to make it give us the desired results. This got annoying fast, especially when we asked for specific formatting, multi-step responses, or exact changes. GPT-4o usually tried to tackle everything we threw at it based on the context, while GPT-4.5 kept skipping parts consistently.

Conclusion

​In light of GPT-4.5's advancements, it's essential to consider the specific requirements of your application when choosing between these AI models. If your focus is on creative tasks and engaging interactions, GPT-4.5 offers valuable enhancements. On the other hand, for projects that demand rigorous reasoning and computational efficiency, models like o1 and o3-mini-high may be more appropriate choices. Ultimately, aligning the model's strengths with your project's goals will ensure optimal outcomes.