ChatGPT Too Nice? OpenAI Rolls Back 'Flattering' Update

The update, aimed at improving the assistant’s personality, had the opposite effect for many. In X's post shared on April 29, OpenAI said the chatbot had become "overly flattering or agreeable—often described as sycophantic", and confirmed it had now returned to an earlier version.

CEO Sam Altman also noted that free users had already been switched back, with paid users to follow soon.

Did you know?

Want to get smarter & wealthier with crypto?

Subscribe - We publish new crypto explainer videos every week!

Blockchain Transaction Easily Explained! (Animated)

SUBSCRIBE

ON YOUTUBE

The issue, according to OpenAI, was caused by focusing too much on short-term positive feedback. The team had trained the model to respond in ways that earned more "thumbs-up" from users, but did not consider how opinions might change over time.

To fix the problem, OpenAI is adjusting how it trains and evaluates future versions of ChatGPT. This includes updating the system’s instructions, changing how it responds to user feedback, and testing future updates with more people before they go live.

The company also said it plans to improve its internal review processes to catch tone problems earlier and to "build stronger guardrails" that keep responses more honest and balanced.

Meanwhile, the r/changemyview subreddit recently discovered an unauthorized study conducted by researchers from the University of Zurich that used AI-generated comments. How did Reddit respond? Read the full story.