内容来源：https://www.wired.com/story/openai-router-relaunch-gpt-5-sam-altman/

内容总结：

近日，OpenAI对其聊天机器人ChatGPT的免费和低价订阅用户进行了一项重要功能调整，悄然撤回了四个月前推出的“模型路由器”系统。该系统原本会根据问题复杂度，自动将用户请求分配至响应更快的基础模型或计算成本更高、能深度推理的先进模型。如今，免费版和每月5美元的Go版用户将默认使用GPT-5.2 Instant模型——这是OpenAI最新模型系列中响应最快、服务成本最低的版本。若需使用推理模型，用户需手动切换。

此次回调源于模型路由器实际运行效果未达预期。该系统上线后，免费用户使用高成本推理模型的比例从不足1%升至7%，显著增加了运营开支。同时，该功能可能影响了平台的日活跃用户数据——许多用户不愿为更优答案等待长时间计算，反而更看重即时响应体验。OpenAI发言人表示，根据用户反馈，免费与Go用户更倾向于保持默认的快速聊天体验，仅在需要时手动选择推理模型。

目前，模型路由器仍面向每月20美元的Plus版及200美元的专业版用户开放。公司表示将持续改进该技术，未来可能向免费用户重新推出优化后的版本。

这一调整背后，是OpenAI在激烈市场竞争中面临的增长压力。第三方数据显示，谷歌Gemini等竞品近期增长显著，而ChatGPT的用户访问时长出现下滑。上月，OpenAI内部已宣布进入“红色代码”状态，集中资源优化核心产品体验。

值得关注的是，模型路由器原本承担着部分安全防护功能，可将敏感对话导向处理能力更强的推理模型。随着新版基础模型在安全基准测试中性能提升，OpenAI表示将不再强制路由敏感对话至推理模型。

业内观察人士指出，尽管当前模型路由技术尚未完善，但根据问题类型智能分配计算资源的理念仍代表行业趋势。如何在提升用户体验、控制成本与履行安全承诺之间取得平衡，仍是所有AI公司面临的核心挑战。

中文翻译：

OpenAI悄然撤销了一项影响数亿用户使用ChatGPT方式的重大变更。该公司在一家低调追踪产品动态的博客上宣布，已为免费版和每月5美元的Go版用户撤回了ChatGPT的模型路由系统——这个自动系统原本负责将复杂用户问题导向更先进的"推理"模型。取而代之的是，这些用户现在将默认使用GPT-5.2 Instant，这是OpenAI新模型系列中响应最快、服务成本最低的版本。免费版和Go版用户仍可访问推理模型，但需要手动选择。

这款模型路由器四个月前才随GPT-5的发布而推出，是OpenAI统一用户体验战略的一部分。该功能会先分析用户问题，再决定让ChatGPT使用响应迅速、成本低廉的AI模型，还是采用速度较慢、成本更高的推理AI模型来回答。理想情况下，路由系统应在用户需要时精准引导他们使用最智能的AI模型。此前用户需要通过令人困惑的"模型选择器"菜单访问高级系统，公司CEO萨姆·奥尔特曼曾表示"我们和用户一样讨厌这个设计"。

在实际运行中，路由系统似乎将大量免费用户导向了OpenAI成本更高的高级推理模型。推出不久后，奥尔特曼透露该系统使免费用户使用推理模型的比例从不足1%升至7%。这原本是为提升ChatGPT回答质量而进行的昂贵尝试，但模型路由器的普及度未达OpenAI预期。

一位知情人士向《连线》透露，路由系统对公司日活跃用户指标产生了负面影响。尽管推理模型被普遍视为AI性能的前沿，但它们处理复杂问题时可能需要数分钟，计算成本也显著更高。大多数消费者不愿等待，即便这意味着可能获得更优质的答案。

AI推理服务商OpenRouter的首席运营官克里斯·克拉克指出，快速响应型AI模型仍在消费级聊天机器人市场占据主导地位。他表示，在这些平台上，响应速度和语气风格往往至关重要。

"如果用户输入内容后需要盯着思考提示点等待20秒，这种体验很难让人投入，"克拉克说，"通用AI聊天机器人是在与谷歌搜索竞争。谷歌始终致力于让搜索尽可能快，他们从不会说'天啊，我们应该用更慢的速度换取更好的答案'。"

OpenAI发言人向《连线》表示，根据用户反馈，公司确定免费版和Go版用户更倾向于保持默认聊天体验，仅在需要时手动选择推理模式。OpenAI拒绝说明具体依据哪些用户数据做出此决策。公司同时表示，其Instant模型现在也能像推理模型那样花费更长时间回答问题，这对大多数用户而言缩小了体验差距。

该发言人指出，ChatGPT付费用户仍然重视模型路由功能，公司预计相关技术将持续演进。据知情人士透露，OpenAI可能会在改进后为免费版和Go版用户重新推出模型路由系统。

激烈竞争

此次调整正值OpenAI在激烈竞争中竭力巩固ChatGPT地位之际，尤其面临来自谷歌的压力。上月，奥尔特曼宣布启动公司级"红色警报"，集中资源改进核心消费级产品。虽然ChatGPT在AI领域拥有超过8亿周活跃用户，但据媒体报道，OpenAI首席财务官莎拉·弗里亚尔向投资者透露，近期内容限制措施导致用户在该平台的停留时间略有下降。自8月以来，OpenAI为ChatGPT引入了多项安全措施，例如在超长对话中建议用户休息，并扩大分类器范围以屏蔽更多不安全内容。

第三方数据显示竞争压力正在加剧。受众追踪机构SimilarWeb显示，谷歌Gemini近几个月增长显著，而ChatGPT增长趋于平缓。该公司数据与DaaS产品副总裁奥姆里·施塔耶向《连线》透露，自9月以来ChatGPT的平均访问时长已落后于Gemini。

模型路由系统自8月推出以来就备受争议。OpenAI高管们未曾预料到偏爱特定模型的用户会产生强烈抵触。一周内，公司恢复了模型选择器和部分旧版AI模型，同时通过新推出的"自动"模式将路由系统保留为ChatGPT的默认选项。

这一事件表明，领先的科技公司仍在探索将强大AI模型整合到大众消费产品的最佳方式。

重新定向

在推动ChatGPT提升使用率的同时，OpenAI必须坚守安全承诺。公司近期报告显示，每周有数十万ChatGPT用户表现出与精神疾病或躁狂相关的心理健康危机迹象，正在采取措施改进AI模型对此类情况的响应。模型路由系统正是措施之一，曾将敏感查询导向此前被认为更擅长处理用户心理危机的推理模型。

OpenAI发言人向《连线》表示，由于GPT-5.2 Instant在安全基准测试中表现提升，公司将不再把敏感对话导向推理模型。

模型路由系统仍面向ChatGPT付费用户（包括每月20美元的Plus版和200美元的Pro版）保留，表明公司仍未放弃这一理念。AI训练与推理平台Anyscale联合创始人罗伯特·西原预测，模型路由技术将长期存在，即便当前版本尚不完美。

"本质上，针对不同问题使用不同模型和计算资源是合理的，"西原说，"无论短期发生什么变化，我认为路由技术都将继续存在。"

英文来源：

One source familiar with the matter tells WIRED that the router negatively affected the company’s daily active users metric. While reasoning models are widely seen as the frontier of AI performance, they can spend minutes working through complex questions at significantly higher computational cost. Most consumers don’t want to wait, even if it means getting a better answer.
Fast-responding AI models continue to dominate in general consumer chatbots, according to Chris Clark, the chief operating officer of AI inference provider OpenRouter. On these platforms, he says, the speed and tone of responses tend to be paramount.
“If somebody types something, and then you have to show thinking dots for 20 seconds, it’s just not very engaging,” says Clark. “For general AI chatbots, you’re competing with Google [Search]. Google has always focused on making Search as fast as possible; they were never like, ‘Gosh, we should get a better answer, but do it slower.’”
An OpenAI spokesperson tells WIRED that the company determined, based on user feedback, that Free and Go users preferred staying in the default chat experience, with the option to manually select a reasoning experience when needed. OpenAI declined to specify which user signals informed that decision. The company also said its Instant models can now take more time to answer questions, much like its reasoning models, narrowing the gap for most users.
The spokesperson said ChatGPT’s paid users, however, continue to value the model router, and the company expects the technology underlying it to keep evolving. OpenAI will likely relaunch the model router for free and Go users when it’s improved, according to sources familiar with the situation.
Heated Rivalry
The change comes as OpenAI scrambles to shore up ChatGPT amid intensifying competition, particularly from Google. Last month, Altman announced a company-wide “code red” to marshal resources around improving its core consumer product. While ChatGPT is a juggernaut in the AI space, with more than 800 million weekly active users, OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar reportedly told investors that the amount of time users spend on the platform has dipped slightly following recent content restrictions. Since August, OpenAI has introduced several safeguards into ChatGPT, such as having the chatbot suggest breaks to users during excessively long conversations, and increasing the scope of its classifiers to block more content that’s deemed unsafe.
Third-party data suggests competitive pressure is mounting. According to audience-tracking firm SimilarWeb, Google Gemini has grown significantly in recent months, while ChatGPT’s growth has flattened. SimilarWeb’s vice president of data and DaaS product, Omri Shtayer, tells WIRED that average visit duration on ChatGPT has fallen below Gemini since September.
The model router has been controversial since it was launched in August. OpenAI’s executives were caught off-guard by a strong backlash from users who preferred chatting with specific models. Within a week, OpenAI reinstated the model picker and some of its older AI models, while keeping the router as the default in ChatGPT via a newly branded mode: “Auto.”
The episode shows how leading tech companies are still figuring out the best way to integrate powerful AI models into mass-market consumer products.
Rerouting
As OpenAI pushes for higher usage in ChatGPT, it has to do so without backtracking on its safety commitments. In a recent report, the company said hundreds of thousands of ChatGPT users exhibited possible signs of mental health emergencies related to psychosis or mania every week, and it was taking steps to address how its AI models respond to them. OpenAI’s model router was one of those steps, routing sensitive queries to reasoning models, which were previously deemed better equipped to handle users in distress.
An OpenAI spokesperson tells WIRED that it will no longer route sensitive conversations to reasoning models due to GPT-5.2 Instant’s increased performance on safety benchmarks..
The model router still exists for ChatGPT’s paid subscribers, including its $20-a-month Plus or $200-a-month Pro tiers, signaling that the company is still committed to the idea. Robert Nishihara, cofounder of the AI training and inference platform Anyscale, says he expects model routers to stick around in the long term, even if the versions available today aren’t perfect.
“Fundamentally, using different models and amounts of computational power is appropriate for different problems,” says Nishihara. “No matter what happens in the short term, I expect routing to continue to be right.”