OpenAI has released o3 and o4-mini — the first AI models that «think with pictures»

OpenAI presented its new AI models — o3 and o4-mini, which use all available ChatGPT features (internet search, image generation, etc.) but have an additional option «image reasoning».

OpenAI o3 — is the most powerful reasoning model available today, with record-breaking results in programming, math, science, and visual perception tests. According to preliminary estimates, this version of AI makes 20% fewer serious mistakes than o1.

OpenAI o4-mini is a compact model (essentially a smaller version of o3) that has been optimized for fast and cost-effective reasoning. It demonstrates the best results among all models at the AIME 2024 and 2025 math competitions.

Introducing OpenAI o3 and o4-mini—our smartest and most capable models to date.

For the first time, our reasoning models can agentically use and combine every tool within ChatGPT, including web search, Python, image analysis, file interpretation, and image generation. pic.twitter.com/rDaqV0x0wE

— OpenAI (@OpenAI) April 16, 2025

For the first time, both can integrate images directly into the chain of thought — and not only «see» them, but also think with them, solving previously unavailable tasks that combine visual and textual thinking. OpenAI notes that the models will also be able to adjust the images by enlarging them or rotating them as part of the «’s reasoning process.

ChatGPT Plus, Pro, and Team users have already gained access to o3 and o4-mini, while Enterprise and Edu models will be available in a week. Free users will be able to try out o4-mini by selecting the Think option before sending a request.

As for the API, o3 has a much cheaper price: $10/$40 for a million incoming/outgoing tokens (compared to $15/$60 for o1); while the fee for o4-mini is the same as for o3-mini — $1.10/$4.40.

It is worth reminding that recently OpenAI has released special AI models for IT specialists under the names GPT-4.1, GPT-4.1 mini, and GPT-4.1 nano, and in the coming weeks we expect to release o3-pro — a version of o3 that uses more computing resources to generate answers exclusively for of ChatGPT Pro subscribers.