If you have not tried ChatGPT before, GPT-5 is a great entry point. Prior to its launch, 34% of US adults had tried ChatGPT (from Pew Research) and 7% use it daily (from Backlinko). GPT-5 has new features to attract the US adults who are not using it regularly.
With prior models, there was some confusion over which model to use, especially across different subscription levels. In the past, I would manually switch models as I was working. I would use GPT-4o for cursory, fast responses and the o3 model for deep research and coding with slower responses. Now, GPT-5 makes the switch for you automatically.
GPT-5 marks a shift from a monolithic model approach to the “mixture of experts” (MoE), where multiple models are used, appropriate to the topic and the complexity of the task. Think of it like this – would you ask your plumber to fix your roof? Or your roofer to fix a leaky toilet?
GPT-5 also presents a seamless front-end across subscription levels. GPT-5 provides more than the experts – the plumber, the roofer. It also provides the general contractor (the router) which chooses the best expert for your need. Behind the scenes, it is providing more advanced processing for high subscription levels, and throttling access to advanced models.
MoE is old technology from the 1990s. DeepSeek’s use of it has renewed interest in the approach, as it demonstrated that strong performance could be gained at a fraction of the inference cost – major savings for businesses in startup mode. Both OpenAI and Anthropic are switching to this approach.
Want to try it? Allow me to suggest a topic and a prompt approach – mosquito control. My family and I have suffered their onslaught this summer. Ask GPT-5 these prompts:
- what are options for controlling mosquitoes in backyards, including info on possible human side effects and environmental impact?
- tell me about pyrethroids and domestic cats
- tell me about mosquito magnet
- I would imagine that there are people that do not like tools such as mosquito magnet because they burn fossil fuels. At the same time, they are toxin free and do not use broad insecticides like pyrethroids. how do environmentalists think about mosquito magnet?
What you will find different from using Google is that search engines are dominated by advertisements. You have probably noticed that Google is responding to OpenAI and Anthropic by providing narrative, AI-generated answers. Today, August 2025, ChatGPT is not advertiser-driven, so answers are centered on user needs, not advertiser placement.
Did I use AI with this post? Absolutely, to complement my abilities. I wrote the draft, using GPT-5 as a researcher. After the draft was finished, I used ChatGPT as a reviewer. I might be artistic, but not an artist, so I used ChatGPT to create the artwork. Finally, I made the last call – I am truly the author of this post.