OpenAI’s GPT-5.1 Now Has a ‘Personality’—and Microsoft Moves Fast to Put It in Copilot

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GPT-5.1 is here with deepened capabilities. Microsoft is already embedding it into Copilot. What does this mean for AI’s future?

OpenAI announced the release of its latest flagship model, GPT-5.1, signaling a significant strategic focus on both user experience and enterprise applications. The new model is designed to be ‘warmer’ and more ‘personable,’ introducing a suite of personality presets, while its architecture is simultaneously being made available to business developers through Microsoft's Copilot Studio.

This dual release underscores a new industry direction, balancing the push for raw computational power with a growing demand for more natural, adaptable, and emotionally intelligent AI interactions.

New Personality Features for ChatGPT

For its public-facing ChatGPT, OpenAI is rolling out customization features intended to move beyond the model's default one-size-fits-all persona.

You will soon have access to new official styles to direct the AI's tone. These include Professional for formal communications, Candid for more direct responses, and Quirky for creative or informal tasks.

Furthermore, OpenAI is experimenting with fine-tuning controls, which would allow you to adjust AI characteristics such as its enthusiasm level, conciseness, and even its frequency of emoji use.

The update is built on upgraded core models, GPT-5.1 Instant and GPT-5.1 Thinking, which have been engineered to be warmer and more empathetic by default.

OpenAI stated this shift is a direct response to user feedback indicating a desire for a more pleasant and natural conversational experience.

Simultaneous Launch in Microsoft Copilot Studio

In a concurrent move, Microsoft announced that GPT-5.1 is now available as an experimental model within Microsoft Copilot Studio. This makes the new technology immediately accessible to enterprise customers for building and customizing their own AI agents.

Microsoft noted that the GPT-5.1 series brings "improved adaptability in thinking time in both chat and reasoning." This feature allows the AI to allocate more computational effort to complex problems while responding more quickly to simple ones, a key efficiency for business workflows.

The model is available to U.S. customers in early release cycle Power Platform environments, allowing developers to test its new capabilities in non-production scenarios before a general rollout.

Availability and Rollout

The GPT-5.1 update is beginning its gradual rollout to paid ChatGPT subscribers (Pro, Plus, and Business) immediately. Free users are scheduled to receive the update after the paid user rollout is complete. For developers, the new models are expected to be made available via the API later this week.