ChatGPT is the most exciting new technology since Nokia released the indestructible cell phone. And with many previous updates significantly enhancing its capabilities, the prospect of receiving new updates is quite exciting. But how often can we expect ChatGPT to be updated?
On average, a ChatGPT update is rolled out approximately every 14 days. Since its release, there have been 23 updates made to ChatGPT, as documented in the official release notes.
Let’s not forget GPT model upgrades, as those bring the big improvements. The average time between GPT model upgrades has been approximately 14 months since GPT-1 was introduced in June 2018.
ChatGPT Updates: A Detailed Timeline
Here’s a detailed timeline of recent ChatGPT updates. I’ve also included the number of days that passed since the previous update, and an exact average of the time between each update at the bottom of the table.
| Update Summary | Release Date | Days Since Last Update |
|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT was released. | November 30, 2022 | – |
| General performance improvements, conversation history feature rollout, and daily message cap experiment. | December 15, 2022 | 15 |
| Further improvements to the ChatGPT model and the addition of the ability to stop generating ChatGPT’s response. | January 9, 2023 | 25 |
| Upgraded the ChatGPT model with improved factuality and mathematical capabilities. | January 30, 2023 | 21 |
| Plus users given the ability to choose between different versions of ChatGPT. | February 9, 2023 | 10 |
| Performance updates to the free plan of the ChatGPT model, faster version for Plus users, and international availability of ChatGPT Plus. | February 13, 2023 | 4 |
| Introduction of GPT-4 to ChatGPT Plus subscribers. | March 14, 2023 | 29 |
| Experimental support for AI plugins in ChatGPT. | March 23, 2023 | 9 |
| Ability to turn off chat history and export data, deprecation of the Legacy (GPT-3.5) model. | May 3, 2023 | 41 |
| Improved the model’s understanding of the context of the conversation, added a new feature to allow users to specify the assistant’s behavior. | May 12, 2023 | 9 |
| Added a new feature to allow users to specify the assistant’s behavior. | May 24, 2023 | 12 |
| Improved the model’s understanding of the context of the conversation. | June 22, 2023 | 29 |
| Added a new feature to allow users to specify the assistant’s behavior. | July 3, 2023 | 11 |
| Code interpreter is now rolling out in beta on web. It lets ChatGPT run code, optionally with access to files you’ve uploaded. | July 6, 2023 | 3 |
| Higher message limits for GPT-4. | July 19, 2023 | 13 |
| Custom instructions released to beta. | July 20, 2023 | 1 |
| ChatGPT app released to Android. | July 25, 2023 | 5 |
| Multiple small updates. | August 3, 2023 | 9 |
| Custom instructions available to free users. | August 9, 2023 | 6 |
| Custom instructions available to users in the EU & UK | August 21, 2023 | 12 |
| ChatGPT Enterprise Launched | August 28, 2023 | 7 |
| Support for new languages added | September 11, 2023 | 14 |
| New voice and image capabilities added | September 25, 2023 | 14 |
| Browse feature re-released to Plus users | September 27, 2023 | 2 |
| Total Updates: 23 | Average Time Between Updates | 14.32 Days |
Many of these updates aren’t just minor tweaks; they often bring significant improvements to the table.
For instance, three of these updates have been dedicated to enhancing the factuality of the model. Five updates have introduced new features, and two have improved the model’s speed. The introduction of ChatGPT plugins was also a huge leap in functionality.
Given OpenAI’s relentless focus on updates and improvements, it’s clear that the journey of refining and enhancing ChatGPT is well underway.
GPT Release Timeline
While “minor” updates to ChatGPT are always welcome, the real meat is in the advances in the GPT model advances. Each new GPT model has brought about exponentially better capabilities over its predecessor, and
Here’s a timeline of past releases, the average time between those releases, and when we can expect upcoming models:
| GPT Version | Release Date | Months Since Last Version | Parameter Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| GPT-1 | June 2018 | – | 117 million |
| GPT-2 | February 2019 | 8 | 1.5 billion |
| GPT-3 | June 2020 | 16 | 175 billion |
| GPT-3.5 | November 2022 | 29 | 175 billion |
| GPT-4 | March 2023 | 4 | Unknown |
| GPT-4.5 | September 2023 (Expected) | 6 | Unknown |
| GPT-5 | 2024 (Expected) | – | Unknown |
| Average (Not including GPT-4.5) | 14.25 |
OpenAI has indicated that GPT-4.5 is expected to be released in September or October of 2023.
Rumors are abound that GPT-5 may be released sometime in 2024, although a precise date remains shrouded in mystery. As of April 2023, Altman confirmed that OpenAI was not actively working on GPT-5.
Given the average release interval of 14 months between GPT models, we could speculate that GPT-5 might be released around May 2024. However, this is purely conjecture and should be taken with a grain of salt the size of Jupiter.
The Future of ChatGPT and New GPT Versions
The future of ChatGPT and the GPT series looks promising. Sam Altman’s comments on the potential for faster release cycles suggest that we could see more frequent updates and new versions in the coming years.
As we delve deeper into the future of ChatGPT and the GPT series, it’s worth taking a moment to appreciate the sheer computational power of these models. Each new iteration of the GPT series has seen a substantial increase in the number of parameters, which is a measure of the model’s complexity, potential for learning, and overall capability.
While the parameter counts for GPT-4 and GPT-5 are currently unknown, the trend from GPT-1 to GPT-3 suggests an exponential increase in model complexity with each new version.
- GPT-1 to GPT-2: 12x increase
- GPT-2 to GPT-3: 116x increase
This trend is indicative of the increasing power and potential of these models. Rumors have circulated about GPT-4 having as many as 170 trillion parameters, but these have been refuted by OpenAI.
Despite this, we know that GPT-4 has — and GPT-5 will have — substantially higher parameter counts than their respective predecessors, making them vastly more powerful and useful.
FAQ
Will ChatGPT Be Updated to 2023?
OpenAI has indicated that GPT-4.5, the next iteration of the GPT model, is expected to be released in September or October of 2023. GPT-5 will hopefully follow sometime in 2024. However, there has been no indication that the new models will have knowledge beyond the current cutoff of September 2021.
How Recent Is ChatGPT Data?
ChatGPT’s knowledge is up-to-date until September 2021. However, it can work with current data using the Bing AI search browser or a web-browsing plugin like WebPilot in ChatGPT Plus. You can also provide it with current data in your prompts.
How Do I Get The Latest Version of ChatGPT?
The latest version of ChatGPT, GPT-4, can be accessed in three ways:
- Through the ChatGPT interface, available only to ChatGPT Plus subscribers.
- Through the API on the OpenAI Platform, which costs $0.03 per token each time you use it.
- Through a third-party AI writing tool that uses the GPT-4 API. These tools often charge a premium on top of the API costs, but their advanced prompting capabilities might make them worth your time.
Final Thoughts
The frequency and types of updates to ChatGPT, the release timeline of GPT versions, and the future of ChatGPT and new GPT versions paint a picture of a rapidly evolving AI landscape.
With an average update frequency of 14 days and a new GPT model every 14 months, we can expect to see continued improvements and enhancements to ChatGPT in the coming years. However, the specifics of these updates and the timeline for future GPT versions remain to be seen.
