OpenAI Launches GPT-5: How Will It Affect the Trading and Investment Industry?

OpenAI has pulled the curtain back on GPT-5, its most advanced AI model to date, and is making it available to everyone—including free users.

The surprise rollout on Thursday signals a significant step toward mainstream AI adoption, as the company pushes its technology deeper into everyday use cases from writing and coding to education and health care.

“It's a good model, and we've simplified the UI alongside it. No more choosing between gpt-4o and o4-mini,” commented Kevin Weil. “When you ask a hard question and the model needs to think hard, it does. When it can give you a fast answer, it does.”

A Model Built for Broader Use

Unlike previous iterations, GPT-5 offers enhanced speed, logic, and safety features, and it’s accessible across all tiers of ChatGPT—Free, Plus, Pro, and Team.

For the first time, free-tier users have access to a reasoning model, while Pro users can use the higher-capacity GPT-5 Pro. If usage caps are hit, users are automatically switched to GPT-5 Mini, a smaller version optimized for efficiency.

The launch comes as OpenAI nears 700 million weekly active users on ChatGPT and explores a potential $500 billion valuation through a new stock sale.

AI Researcher Dave Wang described the new model as a potential “game changer” for finance and investing, citing improvements in speed, accuracy, and reasoning. GPT-5 introduces expanded context windows, more powerful coding capabilities, and integrated breakdowns for step-by-step logic.

According to Wang, GPT-5 was developed with a stronger focus on enterprise analysis. In a demonstration, the model connected to tools such as Gmail, Calendar, and Contacts, and generated integrated dashboards with SaaS optimization calculations. These tasks were described as not possible with earlier versions of the model.

Promising Safety and Transparency

This improvement marks a turning point in OpenAI’s approach to safety and utility. The model is designed to be more transparent about its boundaries, reducing unsupported claims and speculative answers that plagued earlier versions.

During a demonstration, OpenAI asked GPT-5 to create a French language learning app complete with flashcards, quizzes, and progress tracking. Within seconds, it produced two working apps with different designs—an example of the model’s growing creative and functional potential, CNBC reported.

Though the apps had some “rough edges,” OpenAI noted users could easily customize them, pointing to a future where casual users generate complex software from simple prompts.

“GPT-5 is OpenAI’s most advanced model, offering major improvements in reasoning, code quality, and user experience,” posted Lijo Joseph on LinkedIn. “GPT-5-nano is optimized for speed and ideal for applications requiring low latency.”

Microsoft, Box Among Early Integrators

The release of GPT-5 isn’t limited to ChatGPT. Microsoft is embedding the model across its products, including Microsoft 365 Copilot and Azure AI Foundry. Satya Nadella, Microsoft’s CEO, celebrated the milestone on X, recalling Sam Altman’s 2023 presentation of GPT-4 at Microsoft’s Redmond campus: “It’s incredible to see how far we’ve come since that moment.”

“Today, GPT-5 launches across our platforms, including Microsoft 365 Copilot, Copilot, GitHub Copilot, and Azure AI Foundry,” Satya Nadella, Chairman and CEO at Microsoft, said. “It's the most capable model yet from our partners at OpenAI, bringing powerful new advances in reasoning, coding, and chat, all trained on Azure.”

Other companies are already testing GPT-5’s limits. File management platform Box reported that earlier AI models failed advanced tasks due to poor logic handling.

OpenAI also offers developers three versions of the model through its API: GPT-5, GPT-5 Mini, and GPT-5 Nano. These options help balance performance with cost and latency, depending on application needs.

GPT-5 Stops Short of AGI, Altman Says

Despite the progress, Altman made clear that GPT-5 does not meet the threshold for Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), which he defines as an AI that learns autonomously and reasons like a human.

Still, the launch represents another leap in OpenAI’s trajectory. With GPT-5 now in users' hands worldwide, the line between human-like intelligence and machine output continues to blur—just not completely yet.