Update on thinking time settings for GPT-5.2 Thinking in ChatGPT

February 4, 2026
Update on thinking time settings for GPT-5.2 Thinking in ChatGPT

Jan 10, 2026: We lowered the Standard and Light thinking time as we observed users prefer faster responses. As part of this update, the Extended thinking setting for GPT-5.2 was unintentionally changed to be lower which we have now fixed.

February 3, 2026: We made another small reduction to Standard thinking time based on testing.

February 4, 2026: We’re restoring the Extended thinking level for GPT-5.2 Thinking to its prior setting, correcting the inadvertent reduction from January. Extended is now back to its prior level.

We periodically adjust the default thinking time for our reasoning models. These changes are based on ongoing experiments to find the best balance between answer quality and response speed for users.

The thinking level toggle introduced in September 2025 gives users more choice beyond Standard, allowing them to select the right thinking level for their question—whether they want lighter, faster responses or more extended reasoning when depth and accuracy matter more.

Thinking time is not directly comparable across different models. Each model is tuned independently to what works best for users. We’ll continue to adjust these settings as models evolve, and will keep giving users clear controls when there are meaningful tradeoffs to choose from.scribe what has improved

Bug fixes

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Open issues

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Important notes

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