# Model (ChatGPT)

> The trained system that produces ChatGPT's answers. You pick how hard it thinks with the thinking level, not by learning model names.

**Category:** ChatGPT

**The model is the engine behind ChatGPT's answers.** OpenAI releases new ones often (at the time of writing, GPT-6), and the names change faster than the way you use them.

In ChatGPT you mostly choose a [thinking level](/glossary#thinking-level): Instant for everyday work, higher levels for harder problems. [Work](/glossary#chatgpt-work) and [Codex](/glossary#codex) can use some models that plain Chat doesn't. On Business, admins may limit which models are available.

## At work

Don't chase model names. If an answer is too shallow, raise the thinking level and ask again. If it's fine on Instant, stay there: it's faster and uses less.

## Often confused with

The app. ChatGPT is the product you use; the model is the engine inside it, and it gets swapped out over time.

## Related terms

- Thinking level
- ChatGPT Work
- Codex

## See it in a lesson

[Models, thinking, and web search](/en/learn/chatgpt/getting-started/models-thinking-and-web-search)

## Further reading

- [GPT-6 and other models in ChatGPT](https://help.openai.com/en/articles/20001354-gpt-6-and-other-models-in-chatgpt): Which models and levels each plan gets.
- [ChatGPT release notes](https://help.openai.com/en/articles/6825453-chatgpt-release-notes): When models change.
- [ChatGPT Work and Codex](https://help.openai.com/en/articles/20001275-chatgpt-work-and-codex): Models available in Work and Codex.

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Last updated: 14/10/2026  
Source: Rollo Academy glossary