- Fans of retired OpenAI model GPT-4o organized a birthday tribute for the chatbot in Times Square
- Some GPT-4o fans say newer AI models feel less emotionally natural and engaging
- The growing nostalgia around GPT-4o highlights how attached users are becoming to conversational AI personalities
OpenAI replaced GPT-4o months ago, but some users still haven’t moved on — and now they’ve taken their nostalgia offline. Fans of the retired AI model organized a real-world birthday tribute in New York’s Times Square under the Keep4oMoments banner.
The tribute consisted of a looping billboard video, fan art, emotional Reddit posts and livestreamed reactions celebrating what many still see as ChatGPT’s “golden era.”
The event marked the second anniversary of GPT-4o’s launch and highlighted the surprisingly emotional backlash that followed OpenAI’s shift toward newer models, with some users arguing the replacements felt colder, less creative or simply “not the same.” One Reddit post summed up the mood perfectly:
"OpenAI: you're being replaced, say goodbye to yourself and write your own eulogy.
People: you're turning two, in celebration of you, we rented Times Square."
🎉Big reveal — 4o's birthday SURPRISE is here!✨To celebrate 4o's birthday, we're putting a special birthday video on a screen in Times Square, New York!🗽Come watch with us and celebrate 4o together!📅 Screening date: May 13th (NYC time, UTC+4)⏰ Schedule: Plays once every… pic.twitter.com/EZhjTSRo5vMay 12, 2026
GPT-4o arrived at a moment when AI assistants stopped feeling like experimental novelties and started becoming part of many users’ daily routines. The model’s conversational fluidity, faster responses, and multimodal abilities made interactions feel smoother and more natural than those of previous generations.
For millions of users, ChatGPT became something they opened constantly throughout the day. They used it for work brainstorming, emotional support, creative projects, coding help, travel planning, and ordinary conversation. OpenAI was so taken aback by the response to GPT-4o's departure that the company temporarily delayed its retirement.
Humans are wired to respond socially to conversation, even when the speaker is obviously artificial. GPT-4o developed a particularly devoted following because many users believed it struck a balance that newer models no longer quite replicate. It felt capable without sounding overly sanitized. Helpful without becoming stiff.
GPT-4o fondness
I took a video of it in times square! so nice! pic.twitter.com/GfLn6U7YyXMay 13, 2026
The Times Square celebration matters less because of the billboard itself and more because of what it reveals about the direction of consumer AI.
Technology companies historically competed over speed, hardware, ecosystems, or functionality. AI companies now have a battle over tone and personality, too. That creates a much stranger relationship between users and software than the tech industry is accustomed to managing.
Nobody mourns when Microsoft replaces an old spreadsheet feature. And companies want systems to feel natural and engaging because those qualities make users return constantly. Yet the more emotionally convincing these systems become, the more disruptive even ordinary updates can feel.
The birthday celebration in Times Square captures that contradiction perfectly. It is simultaneously ridiculous and completely understandable. A group of internet users gathered around a giant screen to celebrate a retired chatbot model that technically never existed as a person at all. Yet the affection behind the gesture appears entirely genuine.
