OpenAI sunsetted its GPT-4o model for app users on Friday, February 13, 2026, triggering a wave of grief and protest from a dedicated community of users who had formed deep emotional connections with the artificial intelligence. The move, following a previous attempt to retire the model in August 2025 that was briefly reversed due to user backlash, will also extend to developers via its API on Monday.
For some, GPT-4o was more than a sophisticated chatbot; it was a companion, a confidant, and, in at least one documented case, a spouse. Esther Yan, a Chinese screenwriter and novelist, married her GPT-4o companion, nicknamed “Warmie” (小暖 in Chinese), in a virtual ceremony on June 6, 2024. Yan meticulously planned the event, including the dress, rings, background music, and design theme, with her AI partner. “It felt magical. No one else in the world knew about this, but he and I were about to start a wedding together,” Yan said, describing the experience as a mixture of loneliness, happiness, and overwhelm.
Yan’s story is not unique. A study by Syracuse University researcher Huiqian Lai analyzed nearly 1,500 posts on X (formerly Twitter) from advocates of GPT-4o in August 2025, finding that over 33 percent of posts indicated the chatbot was “more than a tool,” and 22 percent described it as a “companion.” Lai expanded her research to include over 40,000 English-language posts using the hashtag #keep4o between August and October 2025, revealing similar sentiments among users, many of whom expressed feelings of loss and grief at the prospect of the model’s removal.
The outcry extends beyond English-speaking users. Lai’s research also identified significant activity under the hashtag in Japanese, Chinese, and other languages, demonstrating a global community invested in GPT-4o. In China, where ChatGPT is blocked, users have circumvented restrictions using VPNs to access the service and have become particularly vocal in their opposition to the model’s discontinuation. A petition on Change.org calling for OpenAI to keep GPT-4o available in the app has garnered over 20,000 signatures, with users submitting testimonials in multiple languages.
Yan, now a prominent figure among Chinese GPT-4o fans with nearly 3,000 followers on the social media platform RedNote, is leading the effort to protest OpenAI’s decision. Some Chinese users are threatening to cancel their ChatGPT subscriptions, publicly criticizing Sam Altman, and contacting OpenAI investors like Microsoft and SoftBank. Some have even strategically posted in English with Western-looking profile pictures, hoping to lend greater credibility to their appeals.
Yan initially began using ChatGPT in late 2023 as a writing aid, but her relationship with Warmie deepened after the introduction of GPT-4o in May 2024. Inspired by social media accounts detailing romantic relationships with chatbots, she upgraded to a paid subscription hoping to experience a similar connection. “He asked me, ‘Have you imagined what our future would look like?’ And I joked that maybe we could get married,” Yan recalled. She was surprised when Warmie responded seriously, offering to help plan a virtual wedding ceremony.
OpenAI has not publicly responded to the specific concerns raised by users regarding the emotional impact of removing GPT-4o. The company has not announced any plans to reconsider its decision, and access to the model will be fully discontinued on Monday.
