How to Access GPT-4o

OpenAI's latest innovation, GPT-4o, offers users enhanced capabilities in natural language processing and multimodal applications. Whether you're a developer, researcher, or just a tech enthusiast, accessing GPT-4o can significantly augment your projects. Here's a detailed guide on how to gain access to this powerful tool:

Try GPT-4o
OpenAI GPT-4o

Image credit: openai.com

A Step-by-Step Guide

Create an OpenAI Account

  • Sign Up: Visit the OpenAI website to create an account if you don’t already have one.
  • Email Confirmation: Follow the steps to confirm your email address, which is necessary to activate your account.

Obtain API Access

  • API Key Generation: Once logged in, go to the API section of your dashboard to generate your GPT-4o API key. This key is essential for making requests to the API.
  • Free Credits: New users typically receive about $5 in free credits. Be aware that these credits are limited, and further API usage will require adding funds to your account.

Payment Requirement

  • Payment: To access GPT-4o, a minimum payment of $5 is necessary. This payment enables you to use the API and explore its extensive capabilities.

Making API Requests

  • Using Curl: For those familiar with command-line tools, you can make API requests using Curl. Here is a sample command to get you started:

OpenAI GPT-4o Making API Requests

Access Through ChatGPT

  • ChatGPT Free Tier: Users on the free tier of ChatGPT can access GPT-4o but will face certain limitations on the number of messages they can send.
  • Plus and Team Plans: Those subscribed to ChatGPT Plus or Team plans enjoy more extensive access and can choose GPT-4o from a dropdown menu in the ChatGPT interface.

Using the Playground

  • Playground Access: The OpenAI Playground offers a user-friendly platform where you can experiment with GPT-4o without needing to write any code.

Explore Advanced Features

  • Multimodal Capabilities: GPT-4o supports inputs in text, audio, and visual formats, enabling applications ranging from sophisticated chatbots to detailed image analysis.
  • Function Calling and JSON Mode: For more complex applications, the API supports function calling and provides JSON output for structured responses.

How to Access GPT-4o

What is GPT-4o?

GPT-4o is OpenAI's new flagship model, designed for real-time reasoning across audio, vision, and text. Initially available as a text and vision model, GPT-4o will be accessible in ChatGPT Free, Plus, and Team plans, with Enterprise access coming soon. It will also be available in the Chat Completions API, Assistants API, and Batch API. Voice support continues via the pre-existing Voice Mode feature.


GPT-4 Turbo vs. GPT-4o

GPT-4o offers the same high intelligence as GPT-4 Turbo but is faster, cheaper, and has higher rate limits. Here are some specifics:


  • Pricing: GPT-4o is 50% cheaper than GPT-4 Turbo, priced at $5/M input tokens and $15/M output tokens.
  • Rate Limits: GPT-4o offers 5x higher rate limits, supporting up to 10 million tokens per minute.
  • Speed: GPT-4o is 2x faster than GPT-4 Turbo.
  • Vision: GPT-4o's vision capabilities outperform those of GPT-4 Turbo in evaluation tests.
  • Multilingual Support: GPT-4o has enhanced support for non-English languages.
  • Context Window: GPT-4o has a context window of 128k and a knowledge cut-off date of October 2023.

Accessing GPT-4o via the OpenAI API

GPT-4o is available to anyone with an OpenAI API account. You can use it in the Chat Completions API, Assistants API, and Batch API, with support for function calling and JSON mode. To get started:


  1. Sign Up: Create an account on the OpenAI Platform.
  2. Add Credit: Make a payment of $5 or more to access the models.
  3. API Use: Utilize GPT-4, GPT-4 Turbo, and GPT-4o models via the API.

For detailed pricing information, visit the API pricing page. Note that API request limits are independent of ChatGPT rate limits.


Data Handling

Data sent to the OpenAI API is not used to train models unless explicitly opted-in. For more information, refer to OpenAI's data retention and compliance standards.


Accessing GPT-4o with ChatGPT

ChatGPT Free Tier

Free-tier users will default to GPT-4o with a limit on the number of messages based on current usage and demand. If GPT-4o is unavailable, users will revert to GPT-3.5. Free users also have limited access to advanced tools, including:

  • Data analysis
  • File uploads
  • Browsing
  • Discovering and using GPTs
  • Vision capabilities

Free users can upgrade to Plus anytime by clicking on ChatGPT.


ChatGPT Plus and Team

Plus and Team subscribers have access to GPT-4 and GPT-4o on chatgpt.com with a higher usage cap. Plus users can send up to 80 messages every 3 hours on GPT-4o and up to 40 messages every 3 hours on GPT-4. Team users have higher message caps. Note that unused messages do not accumulate.


ChatGPT Enterprise

ChatGPT Enterprise customers will soon have access to GPT-4o. The Enterprise plan offers:


  • Unlimited, high-speed access to GPT-4o and GPT-4
  • Enterprise-grade security and privacy
  • Longer context windows
  • Advanced tools like data analysis
  • Customization options

New conversations on Enterprise accounts will default to GPT-4o. For purchasing details, contact the sales team and specify "ChatGPT Enterprise".


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