FINALLY! OpenAI made a guide that literally explains WHEN to use WHAT AI model What you need to know + example prompts to bookmark:
GPT-4o "Excels at everyday tasks" Brainstorming, summarizing, emails, and creative content. Fully multimodal: supports almost all capabilities (GPTs, data analysis, search, image generation, canvas, advanced voice) and inputs (documents, images, CSV files, audio, and video).
GPT-4.5 "Ideal for creative tasks" Emotional intelligence, clear communication, creativity, and a more collaborative, intuitive approach to brainstorming. Example Prompts: - Create an engaging post about AI trends. - Write a product description for a new feature launch. -
OpenAI o4-mini "Fast technical tasks" Quick STEM-related queries, programming, visual reasoning. Example Prompts: - Extract key data points from a CSV file. - Provide a quick summary of a scientific article. - Quick-fix this Python traceback for me.
OpenAI o4-mini-high (ridiculous name) "Detailed technical tasks" Advanced coding, math, scientific explanations, thinks longer for higher accuracy. Example Prompts: - Solve a complex math equation and explain the steps. - Draft SQL queries for data extraction. - Explain a
OpenAI o3 "Complex, or multi step tasks" Strategic planning, detailed analyses, extensive coding, advanced math, science, coding, and visual reasoning. Example Prompts: - Develop a risk analysis for market expansion. - Draft a business strategy outline based on competitive
OpenAI o1 pro mode (the $200 AI big boy) "Complex reasoning" Takes a bit longer to think but delivers the accuracy you need for complex tasks. Example Prompts: - Draft a detailed risk-analysis memo for an EU data-privacy rollout. - Generate a multi-page research summary on
If you want to put these models to work for your business, I have 5 practical guides here: https://alexnorthstar.gumroad....
To summarize, here are the limits and capabilities: GPT-4o - Omni model for real-time, multimodal reasoning in everyday workflows. GPT-4.5 - Broader knowledge and better tone control, ideal for writing, coding and quick problem-solving. o4-mini - Fast, cost-efficient reasoning
Got questions? Happy to help, I use all of them daily. (And Gemini is often better lol)