OpenAI unveils o1-series AI models: What are they, how they work, and more

OpenAI said that o1 and o1-mini AI models can apply different strategies and learn from mistakes to solve science, coding, and maths problems

Microsoft-backed artificial intelligence startup OpenAI has announced new AI models that are said to offer improved reasoning and problem-solving abilities. OpenAI claimed that both the o1 and o1-mini AI models can tackle complex tasks and resolve more challenging problems in science, coding, and maths than previous models.

OpenAI o1 series: Availability

A preview of both the o1 and o1-mini AI models is now available in ChatGPT for Plus and Team subscribers, with a weekly message limit. The company said it is working on increasing this limit and developing a new feature that will automatically select an AI model from the catalogue based on the user’s prompt. For free-tier ChatGPT users, OpenAI plans to introduce the o1-mini model soon.

OpenAI o1 series models: What is it and how it works

In a document detailing the new o1 AI models, OpenAI stated that these models are trained “to spend more time thinking through problems before responding, much like a person would.” Although the new models lack the ability to browse the web or process uploaded files and images like the GPT-4o model, they can refine their “thinking process” by trying new strategies and recognising mistakes.

These capabilities will be useful for tackling complex problems in science, coding, maths, and similar fields. To test this, OpenAI prompted the reasoning model to solve the qualifying exam for the International Mathematics Olympiad (IMO). Compared to the GPT-4o model, which correctly solved 13 per cent of the problems, the new o1 model answered 83 per cent correctly.

OpenAI o1 and o1-mini: Differences

The OpenAI o1-mini AI model is described as a faster, more cost-effective reasoning model with greater efficiency in coding tasks. Being smaller than the o1 model, the o1-mini is 80 per cent cheaper, making it a more efficient solution for applications requiring reasoning but not “broad world knowledge.”