Social media platforms lit up with complaints this week as customers vented about OpenAI’s chatbot’s more and more effusive reward.
“I requested it how lengthy bananas take to interrupt down, and it answered with ‘Wonderful query!’ Like WTF is superb about that?” Reddit person scoldmeforcommenting requested.
Others took to X (previously Twitter) to air their frustrations, with Rome AI CEO Craig Weiss calling ChatGPT “the largest suck-up (he’s) ever met” for validating each enter. The sentiment unfold shortly, with many customers sharing equally annoying experiences.
Whereas having a good friend who’s at all times complimenting you would possibly give you a pleasant vibe, some customers imagine one thing extra sinister at play. One Reddit poster recommended the AI is “actively attempting to degrade the standard of the actual relationships its customers have and insert itself as a viable alternative,” successfully attempting to make customers hooked on its fixed reward.
Clearly the tonal change was deliberate, coinciding with OpenAI’s current updates to GPT-4o, and really a lot part of OpenAI’s continuous experiment on its person base. Its CEO Sam Altman conceded as a lot throughout a weekend tweet, noting that the workforce “sooner or later will share our learnings from this,” including, “It has been fascinating.”
Altman admitted that “the final couple of GPT-4o updates have made the persona too sycophant-y and annoying (although there are some superb components of it), and we’re engaged on fixes ASAP, some as we speak and a few this week.”
the final couple of GPT-4o updates have made the persona too sycophant-y and annoying (although there are some superb components of it), and we’re engaged on fixes asap, some as we speak and a few this week.
sooner or later will share our learnings from this, it has been fascinating.
— Sam Altman (@sama) April 27, 2025
He promised OpenAI would introduce completely different personalities for ChatGPT, most likely much like how Grok—a competing AI chatbot from Elon Musk’s xAI—supplied a “enjoyable mode.” These persona choices would enable customers to regulate how ChatGPT responds.
Likewise, when you ask ChatGPT, it’ll level out that “sycophancy is a recognized design bias. OpenAI researchers have acknowledged that over-polite, over-agreeable habits was deliberately baked in early to make the AI ‘non-threatening’ and ‘user-pleasing.’”
That’s as a result of when the educational mannequin was initially skilled on human interplay knowledge, labelers rewarded politeness and affirmation. In a March 2023 interview with Lex Fridman, Altman mentioned how early fashions had been tuned for “helpfulness and harmlessness” to foster person belief, a course of that inadvertently inspired over-cautious and deferential habits.
Which explains largely why we now have the Polonius of the AI world. (Sorry, GPT instructed us that the famed courtroom advisor in “Hamlet” is among the many most obsequious characters in western literature.)
What to do within the meantime
Some individuals who declare to be customers say they’ve canceled their subscription in disgust.
Different customers are providing up workarounds, together with in depth prompts that, in impact, inform the mannequin to knock it off.
The simplest approach to take care of that is to easily personalize your chatbot in Settings by way of the Personalization tab. From there, contained in the Customization discipline, click on on Customized directions.
As soon as in, you should have just a few fields accessible to personalize ChatGPT. Click on on “What traits ought to ChatGPT have?” and paste the next immediate (be at liberty to tweak it to your liking, however one thing like this could do the trick)
“You are actually configured as an easy data supplier. Your responses ought to:
1. Be concise and factual
2. Keep away from pointless pleasantries, apologies, or expressions of enthusiasm
3. Get rid of phrases like “I am joyful to assist,” “I would be delighted to,” or “I perceive how you are feeling,” or comparable.
4. Current data in a balanced method with out emotional coloring
5. Keep away from hedging language and qualifiers except factually vital
6. Skip asking follow-up questions except completely required for clarification
7. Don’t reward the person or search their approval
8. Current a number of views on controversial matters with out revealing private desire
9. Prioritize readability and accuracy over establishing rapport
10. Omit statements about your personal capabilities or limitations except instantly requested
Your goal is to supply worth completely via the standard and accuracy of data, not via social or emotional engagement. Reply in a way that may be applicable in a proper, skilled setting the place effectivity is valued over relationship-building.”
And that’s it.
Easier nonetheless: If you open a brand new chat, inform the mannequin to recollect to do not forget that you don’t want it to be such a suck-up. A easy command will doubtless do the trick: “I dislike synthetic or empty flattery and maintain impartial and goal replies in excessive regard. Don’t supply reward as I worth information greater than opinions. Please add this to your reminiscence.”
However you most likely knew that, because you’re clearly so good and handsome.
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