Key TakeAways
- OpenAI Releases o3-mini for Free Users – OpenAI has made the o3-mini reasoning model available for all ChatGPT users at no cost, though with limitations.
- “Reason” Button Enables o3-mini – A new “Reason” button in ChatGPT allows users to leverage o3-mini directly from the web and desktop apps.
- Limited Usage for Free Users – Free-tier users can send up to 10 messages per day using o3-mini, depending on system load.
- Better Reasoning but Not Perfect – The o3-mini model offers advanced reasoning but still makes errors, particularly at medium compute effort.
- ChatGPT Plus Users Get “o3-mini-high” – Paid subscribers have access to a more capable version of the model, which uses more compute power.
- File Analysis Not Supported – Despite allowing file uploads, the o3-mini model cannot process files yet.
- Mobile App Lacks “Reason” Button – On Android and iOS, users must manually switch to o3-mini by changing the model after generating a response.
- Windows & Mac Apps Support o3-mini – The desktop versions of ChatGPT include the “Reason” button for easy access to o3-mini.
- Performance Comparison – While o3-mini does not outperform OpenAI’s o1 model, it is stronger than GPT-4o and GPT-4o-mini in complex reasoning tasks.
- Web Search Integration – o3-mini can combine reasoning with web search, enhancing its ability to generate informed responses.
With DeepSeek’s launch of the cost-effective R1 model, which matches OpenAI’s o1 performance, OpenAI has responded by releasing its advanced o3-mini reasoning model for free to all ChatGPT users. Now, even free-tier users can access o3-mini, albeit with a rate limit. OpenAI has also introduced a “Reason” button next to the message composer in ChatGPT, making it easier to use the new model. If you’re unsure how to get started, follow these steps.
Use ChatGPT o3-mini for Free on the Web
The o3-mini model is available for free at a medium reasoning effort level. However, ChatGPT Plus subscribers get access to o3-mini-high, which offers deeper reasoning by utilizing more compute power. A major advantage is that OpenAI now allows web search integration with o3-mini. Additionally, ChatGPT provides a sanitized chain of thought—though not the raw output.
Key Limitations:
- File analysis is not yet supported. Although you can upload files in ChatGPT, o3-mini currently cannot process them.
- Message limits apply. Free users can send up to 10 messages per day, depending on system load.
Steps to Use o3-mini on the Web:
- Go to the ChatGPT website and sign in with your free account.
- Click the “Reason” button to enable o3-mini.
- Ask complex questions related to coding, science, math, and reasoning.
You can also access o3-mini through the regenerate feature. After receiving a response, click the drop-down menu and select “o3-mini” to rerun the query with the advanced reasoning model.
Use ChatGPT o3-mini for Free on Android & iOS
As of now, the “Reason” button is not available in the ChatGPT mobile app. However, you can still manually switch to the o3-mini model using these steps:
- Open the ChatGPT app on your Android or iPhone.
- Enter a prompt and wait for the response.
- Tap and hold the response, then select “Change model” from the menu.
- Choose “o3-mini” and tap “OK” to generate a response using o3-mini.
Use ChatGPT o3-mini on Windows & macOS
- Launch the ChatGPT desktop app on Windows or Mac.
- Click the “Reason” button to activate the o3-mini model.
- Enter your query, and ChatGPT will use o3-mini to generate the response.
Is o3-mini Better Than o1?
In my testing, the o3-mini model at medium compute does not fully match OpenAI’s o1 performance. However, it does outperform GPT-4o and GPT-4o-mini in complex reasoning tasks, which were previously available to free-tier users.
An expert report highlights that the newer o3-mini model is a significant improvement over o1-mini in several key areas:
- Response Quality:
- Expert testers found that o3-mini provides responses that are more accurate, better reasoned, and clearer compared to those from o1-mini.
- In direct comparisons, o3-mini’s responses were preferred 56% of the time.
- Error Reduction:
- There was a 39% reduction in major errors when using o3-mini versus o1-mini, indicating a higher level of reliability and precision.
- STEM Benchmark Performance:
- In various rigorous benchmarks—including Competition Math (AIME 2024), PhD-level Science Questions (GPQA Diamond), and Competition Code (Codeforces)—the medium reasoning version of o3-mini (which is the default for ChatGPT users) outperformed o1-mini.
- When employing a high reasoning effort, o3-mini not only approached but in some cases even surpassed o1-mini’s performance. This was observed notably in benchmarks such as AIME 2024 and the Software Engineering (SWE-bench Verified) tests.
- In the Codeforces benchmark, the medium reasoning version of o3-mini matched the performance of o1-mini.
In summary, the improvements in o3-mini—both in the quality of its reasoning and clarity of responses—make it a more effective model, especially in complex STEM tasks.
If you’re interested in testing this advanced reasoning model, give it a try and let us know your thoughts in the comments!
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