OpenAI Unveils GPT-4o Mini: A Compact, Efficient AI Model for ChatGPT

OpenAI has launched GPT-4o mini, its latest compact AI model designed to offer cost-effective and fast solutions for developers. Starting today, GPT-4o mini is available through the ChatGPT web and mobile apps for consumers, with enterprise users gaining access next week.

GPT-4o mini stands out by outperforming leading small AI models in reasoning tasks involving both text and vision. The demand for small AI models has surged due to their speed and cost efficiencies, making them ideal for high-volume, simple tasks that require repeated AI interactions.

Replacing GPT-3.5 Turbo as the smallest model in OpenAI’s lineup, GPT-4o mini is designed to offer superior performance at a lower cost. According to OpenAI, GPT-4o mini scores 82% on the MMLU benchmark for reasoning tasks, compared to 79% for Gemini 1.5 Flash and 75% for Claude 3 Haiku, as reported by Artificial Analysis.

OpenAI highlights that GPT-4o mini is significantly more affordable to operate than its predecessors, being over 60% cheaper than GPT-3.5 Turbo. Currently, the model supports text and vision in the API, with future updates expected to include video and audio capabilities.

“For every corner of the world to be empowered by AI, we need to make the models much more affordable,” said Olivier Godemont, OpenAI’s Head of Product API, in an interview with TechCrunch. “I think GPT-4o mini is a really big step forward in that direction.”

For developers using OpenAI’s API, GPT-4o mini is priced at 15 cents per million input tokens and 60 cents per million output tokens. The model features a context window of 128,000 tokens, approximately the length of a book, and a knowledge cutoff of October 2023.

Although OpenAI has not disclosed the exact size of GPT-4o mini, it is comparable to other small AI models like Llama 3 8b, Claude Haiku, and Gemini 1.5 Flash.

However, OpenAI asserts that GPT-4o mini is faster, more cost-efficient, and smarter than these industry-leading models. Prior to its release, OpenAI tested GPT-4o mini on the LMSYS.org chatbot arena to evaluate its competitive edge.

With the introduction of GPT-4o mini, OpenAI aims to make advanced AI accessible and affordable, pushing the boundaries of what small AI models can achieve in various applications.