OpenAI has released o3-mini, a new AI model designed for speed and precision in science, math, and coding tasks. Described as its “most cost-efficient model” in the reasoning series, o3-mini offers a specialized alternative for tech domains requiring strong STEM capabilities.
The o3-mini is optimized for STEM reasoning and, according to OpenAI, matches the performance of the o1 model in science, math, and coding with medium reasoning effort, while providing faster responses. A/B testing showed o3-mini to be 24% faster than o1-mini, with average response times of 7.7 seconds compared to 10.16 seconds.
This model is the first small reasoning model from OpenAI to support features like function calling, developer messages, and Structured Outputs. It also supports streaming, and developers can choose from low, medium, and high reasoning efforts. Integration with search allows o3-mini to provide up-to-date answers with links to relevant web sources.
o3-mini is available to ChatGPT Plus, Team, and Pro subscribers. It replaces the o1-mini in the model picker. Paid users can select “o3-mini-high” for increased intelligence at the cost of response time.
ChatGPT Pro users have unlimited access to both o3-mini and o3-mini-high. Plus and Team users have an increased message limit of 150 messages per day, up from 50 with o1-mini.
Free ChatGPT users can access o3-mini by selecting “Reason” in the message composer or regenerating a response. This marks the first time a reasoning model from OpenAI is available to free users. o3-mini is also accessible through Microsoft’s Azure OpenAI Service.
