o3-mini at a glance
o3-mini reached ChatGPT and the API with three reasoning effort levels, function calling and Structured Outputs, and became the first reasoning model offered to free ChatGPT users.
What changed with o3-mini
OpenAI released o3-mini on January 31, 2025, as the most cost-efficient model in its reasoning series, after previewing it in December 2024. It targets science, math and coding while keeping the low cost and latency of o1-mini, and OpenAI said that at medium effort it matches o1 on evaluations such as AIME and GPQA.
It was OpenAI's first small reasoning model to support function calling, Structured Outputs and developer messages, with low, medium and high reasoning effort settings. API access started with usage tiers 3 to 5. In ChatGPT it replaced o1-mini for paid users, with an o3-mini-high option, and free users could try it through the Reason button. It does not accept images.
Where to compare o3-mini
Independent leaderboards and official resources for comparing this model yourself. Rankings change often; each site shows its own current data.
General leaderboards
Official resources
Why o3-mini matters for businesses
For businesses, o3-mini made reasoning practical inside production automations: structured, tool-calling workflows such as data extraction or code review could use a reasoning model without the cost of a flagship.
Sources for this story
- OpenAI o3-mini (opens in a new tab)Official
OpenAI · openai.com
- o3-mini model page (opens in a new tab)Benchmark
Artificial Analysis · artificialanalysis.ai
Last verified: . IA Compa summarizes public announcements for business readers. We are not affiliated with the companies mentioned. Always confirm details, pricing, and availability with the official source.
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