ChatGPT 5.2 branded a ‘step backwards’ by disappointed early users – here’s why

• OpenAI says ChatGPT 5.2 is "the smartest generally-available model in the world."
• Reddit users claim the new upgrade is "boring" and "too corporate"
• Is ChatGPT 5.2 worse than its predecessor? It's too soon to tell

ChatGPT 5.2 is now available as OpenAI tries to flex its muscles to combat Google's impressive Gemini 3. But some users aren't very happy.

The new AI model of the world's most popular chatbot hasn't even been out 24 hours, and users are flooding social media highlighting their discontent with the update.

A Reddit thread titled, "so, how we feelin about 5.2?" on the ChatGPT subreddit has many of OpenAI's most loyal users discussing the shortcomings of the new model, which Sam Altman says is "the smartest generally-available model in the world."

One of the top comments is from user AsturiusMatamoros, who wrote, "Too corporate, too 'safe'. A step backwards from 5.1." And that's just the tip of the iceberg...

A vocal minority?

It can be hard to see the bigger picture when a new product launches, especially considering that those looking to highlight their unhappiness will be more vocal than the majority of ChatGPT's 800 million weekly users who are interacting with 5.2 and enjoying it.

It will take a few weeks to truly understand how much of an improvement GPT 5.2 really is, and whether it's truly the best generally-available AI model we've seen to date.

That said, for now, many users clearly aren't happy, and some of these Reddit comments are brutal.

One user wrote, "Boring. No spark. Ambivalent about engagement. Feels like a corporate bot. So disappointing." While another added, "It's everything I hate about 5 and 5.1, but worse."

The theme of the new 5.2 model being boring seems to be repeated often in the thread, with another user writing, "I hate it. It’s so… robotic. Boring."

Wait and see

We've yet to thoroughly test ChatGPT 5.2 here at TechRadar, but given that the model is so new, I highly doubt users have been able to interact with it enough to have such a negative response to its launch.

When ChatGPT 5 launched earlier this year, users absolutely hated the upgraded model, so much so that Altman and co reverted lots of the changes to appeal to the chatbot's most enthusiastic users.

Any AI model launch is going to be met with its fair share of criticism, but it's too soon to know if these incredibly negative comments hold weight, or if they're just from AI users who haven't adjusted to the 5.2 upgrade yet.

OpenAI says ChatGPT 5.2 is better in every way compared to its predecessor, but could the company's push to rush out a new model to compete with Google have allowed faults to escape detection? Time will tell.

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