GPT-5.2 vs. Gemini 3: Can It Finally Surpass the Competition?
▼ Summary
– OpenAI released its latest AI model, GPT-5.2, which is designed for professional knowledge work and reportedly rivals expert performance in tasks across 44 occupations.
– The model was fast-tracked for release to stay competitive with recent AI model launches from rivals Google (Gemini 3) and Anthropic (Opus 4.5).
– Key improvements in GPT-5.2 include significantly better performance on economic value benchmarks, enhanced long-context reasoning and vision abilities, and a 30% reduction in hallucinations compared to its predecessor.
– The model also shows advanced coding capabilities, achieving a new state-of-the-art score on a software engineering benchmark and offering better debugging and front-end development features.
– OpenAI emphasized safety improvements, including better handling of sensitive conversations and mental health prompts, and confirmed there are no immediate plans to deprecate older GPT models.
The latest release from OpenAI, GPT-5.2, has officially arrived, positioning itself as a powerful tool for professional knowledge work. This model launch comes amid intense competition, with reports suggesting its development was accelerated to keep pace with recent advancements from rivals like Google’s Gemini 3 and Anthropic’s Claude Opus 4.5. The company claims this new iteration is its most capable series yet for saving time and enhancing productivity in workplace settings.
Designed specifically for professional tasks, GPT-5.2 is built to rival expert performance across a wide range of occupations. OpenAI points to its internal GDPval benchmark, which measures the economic value generated by AI models across tasks linked to 44 different jobs. On this benchmark, GPT-5.2 Thinking scored 70.9%, a significant leap from the previous version’s 38.8%. The company states the model can produce outputs for these professional tasks at over eleven times the speed and less than one percent of the cost of human experts, though it still recommends human oversight to catch occasional minor errors.
In comparative testing on the GDPval benchmark, Anthropic’s Claude Opus 4.1 secured the top overall spot, showing particular strength in aesthetic and formatting work. Meanwhile, GPT-5 models were highlighted for their accuracy in locating domain-specific knowledge. Beyond raw task performance, GPT-5.2 brings notable upgrades in long-context reasoning and advanced vision capabilities. These improvements allow it to maintain accuracy when analyzing lengthy documents like reports and contracts, and to better interpret visual data such as diagrams, dashboard screenshots, and images where spatial layout is critical.
For developers, the model shows progress on standard coding benchmarks. It achieved a new state-of-the-art score of 55.6% on the SWE-Bench Pro, which evaluates software engineering across four programming languages. OpenAI says this translates to more effective debugging, feature implementation, and deployment with less manual intervention. The model also exhibits enhanced abilities for front-end development work, including handling complex user interfaces and 3D elements.
A key focus of this release is improved reliability. OpenAI notes that GPT-5.2 Thinking hallucinates, or generates incorrect information, 30% less often than its predecessor. While this reduction is significant, the company still advises users to verify any critical claims made by the model. On the safety front, OpenAI states it has trained GPT-5.2 to handle sensitive conversations more carefully, resulting in fewer undesirable responses. The company is also continuing work on an age prediction model intended to automatically apply content protections for users under eighteen.
Access to GPT-5.2 is beginning a rollout to paid ChatGPT users, with Instant, Thinking, and Pro versions tailored for different tasks. Developers can already access all three through the API. Business and Enterprise users can leverage the model’s specialized spreadsheet and presentation features by selecting Thinking or Pro modes. OpenAI has clarified it has no immediate plans to retire older models like GPT-5.1 or GPT-4.1, aiming to provide ample notice for any future deprecation.
The launch follows reports of another OpenAI project codenamed Garlic, a model said to address foundational training processes. According to internal communications, Garlic showed strong performance in evaluations against competing models on coding and reasoning tasks. The technical adjustments in its pretraining phase reportedly allow a smaller model architecture to contain knowledge previously requiring larger models, which can reduce costs and simplify deployment. It remains unclear how directly Garlic relates to the released GPT-5.2, but its developments are said to be informing the creation of even more advanced future models.
This rapid pace of innovation underscores a fierce battle for market dominance, primarily between OpenAI and Google as they compete for consumer and developer attention. In contrast, Anthropic has emphasized its focus on the enterprise sector, a strategic difference its leadership suggests keeps it from the same “code red” competitive pressure. As these companies continue to advance their offerings, the primary beneficiaries appear to be users gaining access to increasingly sophisticated and economically valuable AI tools.
(Source: ZDNET)
