By skyforbes 
I upgraded to ChatGPT Plus the day GPT-5.2 dropped. $20. Saw the benchmarks, read about the "revolutionary improvements," and thought this was going to be massive.
Then I started using it. And something felt… off.
It didn't feel different. At all. Same responses. Same tone. Same everything. I thought maybe I was imagining it, or maybe I just wasn't using it right.
So I decided actually to test it.
What I did:
I spent Sunday running the exact same prompts through GPT-5.2, GPT-5.1 and also Opus 4.5 to see if there was some difference. Real prompts, not synthetic benchmarks. The kind of stuff I actually use AI for:
- Debugging code (Python bug in a compound interest calculator)
- Writing marketing copy (cold email)
- Solving a business problem (growth tactics for low traction)
- Analyzing data (what to do with 4 signups and zero retention)
What I found:
In 3 out of 4 tests, GPT-5.2 and GPT-5.1 gave me nearly identical outputs. I'm talking 95% the same text. Same explanations. Same structure. Same examples.
Code debugging example: Both caught the bug. Both explained it the same way. Both showed the same fix. The only difference? GPT-5.2 added one extra sentence about testing at the end. That's it.
Cold email example: Both wrote in the exact same corporate tone. Both used {{FirstName}} placeholders. Both had an identical structure: problem → solution → CTA. The only differences were cosmetic word swaps.
It was like reading two drafts of the same essay where someone just used a thesaurus.
The one test where they differed: Problem-solving was the exception. They gave different tactical approaches here. So they're not literally the same model. But the difference felt minor.
Here's what's bothering me:
Everyone's talking about the benchmarks. "Best model ever." "Huge improvement." But when I actually use it for normal work? I can't tell the difference.
Reddit's been saying it feels "boring" and "corporate" compared to 5.1. I thought that was just typical Reddit negativity. But after testing them side-by-side… they're right. It DOES feel the same.
Meanwhile, I also threw Claude Opus 4.5 into the mix for comparison. And Claude gave me completely different responses. Different tone, different structure, different approach. It proved the prompts weren't too simple or leading.
But GPT-5.2 and 5.1? Basically twins.
So what's going on?
Did OpenAI make minimal changes and call it a new version? Are the improvements too subtle for real-world use? Am I just bad at prompting?
I don't know. But I paid $20 expecting a clear upgrade, and what I got was… the same thing with a different version number.
I documented everything with side-by-side screenshots and full test results here
If you want to see the actual outputs and judge for yourself, it's all there. I'm not trying to trash OpenAI – I genuinely want to understand what I'm missing.
Has anyone else tested these models side-by-side? I can't be the only one who's noticed this. What did you find?