OpenAI Launches o3-mini – A Fast and Affordable AI for STEM and Coding

Highlights

• OpenAI’s new AI model o3-mini is designed for science, math and coding.
• It offers a fast and cost-efficient solution for STEM professionals and developers.
• o3-mini performs 24% faster than o1-mini and includes key features such as function calling, structured outputs, developer messages and adjustable reasoning levels.
• ChatGPT Plus, Team, and Pro subscribers can access o3-mini with Pro users getting unlimited access.

OpenAI has officially released its “most cost-efficient model” in the reasoning series – the o3-mini.

First previewed in December 2024, this AI model is designed for science, math and coding, making it a great tool for STEM professionals and developers. Here’s everything we know about the new model.

OpenAI o3-mini is now available in ChatGPT and the API.

Pro users will have unlimited access to o3-mini and Plus & Team users will have triple the rate limits (vs o1-mini).

Free users can try o3-mini in ChatGPT by selecting the Reason button under the message composer.

— OpenAI (@OpenAI) January 31, 2025

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman praised the tool in multiple posts on X (formerly Twitter) saying, “o3-mini-high is really good and it’s cool to hear some people say it’s their favorite model ever. [….] with ChatGPT plus, you can select “o3-mini-high”, which thinks harder and gives better answers.”

o3-mini is out!

smart, fast model.

available in ChatGPT and API.

it can search the web, and it shows its thinking.

available to free-tier users! click the “reason” button.

with ChatGPT plus, you can select “o3-mini-high”, which thinks harder and gives better answers.

— Sam Altman (@sama) January 31, 2025

o3-mini-high is really good and it’s cool to hear some people say it’s their favorite model ever

but

it reminds me of when we used to have something internally called “the little big run”

a top 2025 goal is to fix our naming problem

— Sam Altman (@sama) February 1, 2025

What is OpenAI’s New Model – o3-mini?

OpenAI says o3-mini offers a faster and more efficient alternative for tech-focused tasks. It performs at the same level as o1 in science, math, and coding but delivers results 24% faster than o1-mini. In testing, o3-mini had an average response time of 7.7 seconds, compared to o1-mini’s 10.16 seconds.

It’s also OpenAI’s first small reasoning model with key developer features including Function calling, Structured Outputs, Developer messages, Search for real-time answers with source links and Adjustable reasoning levels (low, medium, high).

OpenAI o3-mini is now available in the API for developers on tiers 3–5. It comes with a raft of developer features:

⚙️ Function calling
📝 Developer messages
🗂️ Structured Outputs
🧠 Reasoning effort
🌊 Streaming
📦 Batch API support
🤖 Assistants API support

— OpenAI Developers (@OpenAIDevs) January 31, 2025

How To Use o3-mini?

ChatGPT Plus, Team and Pro subscribers can access o3-mini through the model picker replacing o1-mini. Pro users get unlimited access to both o3-mini and o3-mini-high (a smarter but slightly slower version). Plus Team users now get 150 messages/day, up from 50 with o1-mini.

Free users can try o3-mini by selecting “Reason” in the message composer or regenerating responses, making it OpenAI’s first reasoning model available to non-paying users.

Additionally, o3-mini is now available through Microsoft’s Azure OpenAI Service.

With its speed, affordability and strong STEM capabilities, the o3-mini is set to be a valuable tool for researchers, developers and students alike.

FAQs

Q1. What is the new AI model o3-mini designed for?

Answer. OpenAI’s o3-mini is designed for science, math, and coding, offering a fast and cost-efficient solution for STEM professionals and developers.

Q2. How does the performance of o3-mini compare to o1-mini?

Answer. o3-mini performs 24% faster than o1-mini and includes key features such as function calling, structured outputs, developer messages, and adjustable reasoning levels.

Q3. Who can access o3-mini and how?

Answer. ChatGPT Plus, Team, and Pro subscribers can access o3-mini, with Pro users getting unlimited access. Free users can try it by selecting “Reason,” and it is also available through Microsoft’s Azure OpenAI Service.

Also Read : ChatGPT Search Will Now Be Available Free for Everyone

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