OpenAI Releases GPT-5.2 Amidst Competitive Pressure from Google

OpenAI has launched GPT-5.2, introducing three versions: Instant, Thinking, and Pro, as a direct response to competitive pressures from Google's Gemini 3 AI model. This release follows an internal 'code red' alert issued by CEO Sam Altman, aimed at prioritizing enhancements to ChatGPT after Gemini 3 topped multiple benchmarks and gained market share.

OpenAI's Chief Product Officer, Fidji Simo, emphasized that GPT-5.2 is designed to create significant economic value, being better at tasks such as spreadsheet creation, coding, and image perception. The model boasts a 400,000-token context window and a knowledge cutoff date of August 31, 2025, and is rolling out to paid ChatGPT subscribers while API access is available for developers, priced at $1.75 per million input tokens.

This represents a 40 percent increase over its predecessor, GPT-5.1, which will still be available for three months under a legacy models dropdown. The urgency for this release reflects the high stakes for OpenAI, which has committed $1.4 trillion for AI infrastructure amidst the growing competition, as Google reports over 650 million monthly active users for Gemini, compared to OpenAI's 800 million weekly active users for ChatGPT.

The advancements in GPT-5.2 include improved accuracy in problem-solving and a warmer conversational tone, with the goal of making it a reliable tool for professionals in various fields, as noted by multiple sources including Ars Technica and Engadget.