From Excitement to Frustration: My Disappointing Experience with ChatGPT-5

When OpenAI released ChatGPT-5, I expected a leap forward in speed, accuracy, and instruction-following. What I got instead was a frustrating step backwards.

The Anticipation

For weeks, I had been counting down to the release of ChatGPT-5. As someone who had worked extensively with GPT-3 and GPT-4, I was genuinely eager to see how the new model would improve my workflow. I pictured lightning-fast replies, precise task execution, and sharper reasoning.

On release day, I logged in with the enthusiasm of a child unwrapping a new gadget. I was ready to see AI at its best.

The Reality Check

Within minutes, the excitement began to fade.

The first red flag was slowness. Instead of rapid, seamless responses, I found myself waiting — sometimes uncomfortably long — for answers. This was supposed to save time, not waste it.

Then came inefficiency. GPT-5 seemed to stumble over tasks its predecessors handled with ease. Instead of working smarter, it was repetitive — asking me to confirm instructions multiple times, even when I had already confirmed them.

And then there was inaccuracy. I expected better factual precision, but instead I got incomplete or irrelevant outputs. In some cases, it ignored clear, simple directions.

Instruction-Following? Not Quite

One of my biggest frustrations was the decline in instruction-following. GPT-4 was far from perfect, but GPT-5 felt even more prone to wandering off course. I would give a detailed, step-by-step request, only to receive an answer that skipped key points or replaced them with explanations I never asked for.

A Step Backwards

By the end of my first session, I realized I had spent more time fixing GPT-5’s work than benefiting from it. The model was slower, less efficient, and more frustrating than its predecessors. It was the opposite of the upgrade I had envisioned.

I still believe AI can get better — every version has growing pains — but for now, ChatGPT-5 feels like a stumble, not a stride.

The Takeaway

Upgrades are supposed to move us forward. This one made me reconsider my optimism.

Until GPT-5 regains the speed, efficiency, and accuracy I relied on in earlier versions, my excitement will be tempered the next time I see the words “new release.”