ChatGPT users who don’t pay for one of the higher-level subscriptions should be able to communicate with OpenAI’s cheaper AI model. Wire spotted a recent update in the release notes for ChatGPT indicating free users and ChatGPT Go subscribers will now have their prompts served to the GPT-5.2 Instant model by default and no more complex queries will be ported to more powerful models.

In an update dated December 11, OpenAI stated that it “removed the automatic transfer model for reasoning in ChatGPT” for free and Go users. “Previously, some questions were automatically routed to the Thinking model when ChatGPT determined it would be helpful. To maximize choice, free users will now use GPT-5.2 Instant by default, and can still choose to use reasoning at any time by selecting Thinking from the message composer’s tools menu.”

Gizmodo reached out to OpenAI for more details on the change, including whether free and Go users will have any other limitations on their accounts. We’ll update this post when we hear back.

Free and Go userswho pay $5 per month for a limited subscription plan available only to users in certain regions, will still be able to access ChatGPT’s Thinking model, but will have to do so manually—and will likely have to make that change with each visit. OpenAI describes its Instant model as a “powerful workhorse for everyday work and learning,” while Thinking “solves more difficult work tasks more effectively and with more polish.”

The change is something that can position OpenAI as an improvement in the quality of life for users, who have appeal the company’s decision to automatically route users to a model based on their query. Back when the company launched GPT-5, frequent users of ChatGPT were disappointed with the “lobotomized” version of the chatbot with less “personality.” Earlier this year, CEO Sam Altman agreed“We hate the model selector as much as you do.”

But it is also noted that the change is a cost-saving measure for OpenAI, which almost certainly relies on the fact that a significant fraction of free users will not look at the model they use and go with the company that filters them to the cheapest available option.

A cost-saving measure for the company may come at a cost to users. In the past, OpenAI says it will route sensitive queries in its reasoning model because it shows better responses when interacting with users who show signs of mental distress. It no longer does that, in part because GPT-5.2 Instant is now better equipped to handle such situations. Hopefully the company is right about that.