OpenAI has released its new GPT-5.2 model (a couple of days after it was anticipated), and ChatGPT 5.2 has rolled out in tandem. The new model comes relatively soon after ChatGPT-5.1, but while the last update sought to restore the charm and personality many felt were absent in ChatGPT-5, the latest update focuses on more ascetic goals.
OpenAI is pitching GPT‑5.2 as a model that can explain itself better, work more reliably, and handle long, complicated, even messy tasks. But OpenAI knows the average person does not care about benchmark charts or academic papers boasting of the new model’s skills. So, the company is encouraging people to think about the big technical improvements as a gateway to everyday usefulness. Like its predecessor, ChatGPT-5.2 comes in three flavors that increase in size and potential ability: Instant, Thinking, and Pro.
As generative AI has moved from experimental novelty to daily habit, people rely on ChatGPT for all sorts of academic and professional needs, including many that no one at OpenAI had envisioned. ChatGPT‑5.2 is built to hold up under that weight, so here’s what you should know about the latest experience.
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GPT-5.2 is here! Available today in ChatGPT and the API.It is the smartest generally-available model in the world, and in particular is good at doing real-world knowledge work tasks.December 11, 2025
1. Thinking clearly
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OpenAI showed tests demonstrating that GPT-5.2 performs at or above the level of human experts across a wide range of tasks involving large amounts of information, a first for OpenAI’s models. On the GDPval evaluation, which tests 44 different professional work categories from finance to law to consulting, GPT‑5.2 Thinking beats or ties top professionals on nearly three-quarters of tasks like making spreadsheets and presentations, as well as more complex analyses.
The most significant change is the model’s ability to coordinate multi‑step reasoning. GPT‑5.2 Thinking can take a complicated question, break it into parts, plan the route through the problem, and deliver an answer that reflects a coherent chain of thought. It is not simply predicting the next plausible sentence, but the next plausible multi-day project.
You might notice it coming into play when ChatGPT explains a concept more cleanly than you might expect, or stays on track across a long conversation, or just when it offers step‑by‑step logic that actually stays coherent.
Bigger memory
The clearer thinking ties into the memory upgrade offered by GPT-5.2. OpenAI says GPT‑5.2 Thinking reaches near‑perfect accuracy when tracking information across hundreds of thousands of words. You can drop an entire project folder, a long report, a legal contract, a scientific paper, or sprawling transcripts into ChatGPT, and instead of losing the thread halfway through, the model now keeps track of the details and treats the whole thing as interconnected.
If you are a student, you can upload multiple readings and ask for a comparative analysis, or feed a small business’s financial reports in and ask for trends or strategy suggestions. The model can handle the kind of multi‑file context that overwhelmed earlier versions.
The memory upgrade extends to its vision as well. ChatGPT-5.2 is far better at understanding charts, diagrams, and software. It can make out details in fuzzy or complex images better too. Longer memory is not the headline feature that gets people excited usually, but it could be a major factor in how people feel about ChatGPT-5.2.
More dependable
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The third defining improvement in ChatGPT‑5.2 is reliability. Hallucinations are much rarer with GPT-5.2 than with GPT‑5.1, dropping by 30%, according to OpenAI. Mistakes still happen, but you don’t have to spend as much time checking and fixing them.
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The improved dependability is also evident in how it uses tools. OpenAI cited an example of a messy customer‑service scenario involving a delayed flight, missed connections, an unexpected overnight stay, and medical-seat requests. GPT‑5.2 successfully rebooked the traveler with the right seat and got them compensation, while GPT‑5.1 fell apart midway.
A ChatGPT model that’s less likely to veer off course during a chat is a model people will like and trust more, but OpenAI also made a point of making GPT-5.2 more dependable as a safe conversational partner. ChatGPT‑5.2 will respond more appropriately when discussing things like mental health and emotional turmoil, with better and more supportive suggestions.
ChatGPT‑5.2 will roll out gradually across ChatGPT Plus, Pro, Go, Business, and Enterprise subscriptions, with access to GPT‑5.1 ending in three months, for anyone who uses AI tools a lot. The latest model will likely feel long overdue as an AI conversational partner that can better mimic thoughtfulness. ChatGPT-5.2 isn’t flashy, but people who want an AI that thinks as carefully as it talks will likely be pleased.
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