GPT-5 is (finally) here

Welcome back, Superhuman. OpenAI’s GPT-5 is here. The bad news: it isn’t quite the superhuman levels of intelligence that some were expecting/hyping it to be. The good news: our jobs are probably safe for now. Regardless, GPT-5 is still a major leap forward, and we have the full breakdown on all the key upgrades in today’s email.

Also Today: Learn how to generate a printable storybook with AI, and get the latest prompts, headlines, and trending social posts.

TODAY IN AI

1. GPT-5 is (finally) here: OpenAI says it’s the first "unified" AI model that packs deep reasoning into faster responses, creates entire apps from single prompts, and generates research briefs — all while claiming to make fewer errors than previous versions. The startup is also pulling the plug on its lineup of past AI models (including GPT-4o, o3, and o4-mini), making all its users transition to the new model. See GPT-5 in action here. And get a deeper overview of all the key upgrades in our detailed section below.

2. President Trump urges Intel CEO to resign: The President has demanded the resignation of Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan, calling him "highly conflicted" due to his alleged ties to Chinese firms. Tan had reportedly invested at least $200M in hundreds of Chinese chip companies (some allegedly linked to China's military) — awkward optics for the man leading America's semiconductor champion. This comes as the company battles manufacturing setbacks and an absence from the booming AI chip market.

3. Musk unveils plan to introduce ads directly into Grok’s responses: During a rare charm offensive with marketers, the xAI CEO pitched the idea as delivering value on both sides: "If a user's trying to solve a problem, then advertising the specific solution would be ideal." With AI costs skyrocketing and investors increasingly demanding paths to profitability, ad integration could potentially crack open a lucrative new revenue stream for the industry. It’s a test case for monetization beyond just subscription plans.

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FROM THE FRONTIER

The full story on OpenAI’s GPT-5

There were some early wins. Users were pleasantly surprised to learn that GPT-5’s base model is rolling out to unpaid ChatGPT users for free, while Plus subscribers ($20/month) get higher usage limits. For developers, API pricing starts at an attractive $0.15/$1.50 per million input/output tokens for GPT-5 Nano, and up to $1.25/$10 for the full model.

It has the benchmarks to back up its performance. Straight off the bat, the model aced LMArena. Millions of users unknowingly put it through its paces and the results were definitive: GPT-5 ranked #1 across all major categories. It also snagged 100% on AIME 2025 math problems (when using Python), 74.9% on SWE-Bench coding challenges, and 42% on Humanity's Last Exam (slightly behind Grok 4 Heavy).

The jury’s still out on GPT-5’s coding promise. In live demos, the model built a complete language learning game from a simple prompt in minutes. Users have been taking it for a spin, with one claiming they solved some "very, very hard debugging prompts that were previously unsolved (by AI)". Others have said they’d rather stick with Claude for their coding needs.

The model zeroes in on health applications: GPT-5 performed well on OpenAI’s HealthBench evals, scoring higher than any previous model. Justine Moore, partner at VC firm a16z, is "pleasantly surprised" by the company leaning into the fact that millions of users use ChatGPT to understand and treat diagnoses. "With GPT-5, it's no longer an "off-label" application."

But don’t call it AGI yet. GPT-5 still trails Grok 4 on the ARC-AGI-2 benchmark, coming in at just 9.9% to Grok 4’s 15.9%, as Elon Musk pointed out on X. After months of being billed as “a significant step on the path to AGI", the model left some observers underwhelmed — OpenAI’s odds of having the best AI model by the end of August tanked from over 70% to under 20% on betting platform Polymarket after GPT-5 was announced.

Our early verdict: This might not be AGI, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a major step forward. We’re seeing significant improvements on tasks like writing and coding in our early tests, and we expect you’ll get good value out of the upgrade. We’ll report on new use cases and capabilities as we uncover them in our testing over the coming days.

THE AI ACADEMY

How to generate a printable storybook with AI

• Go to Gemini and sign up.

• Add your child’s drawing or any hand-drawn sketch you want to turn into a story.

• In the text box, describe the kind of story you want Gemini to generate. Be specific about the tone, theme, characters, and what kind of visuals or setting you imagine.

Sample Prompt: [upload sketch] Create a Storybook about my son's drawing. Make it a futuristic adventure through different galaxies.

• Gemini will generate a complete storybook with visuals based on the drawing and your prompt. You can review the content and regenerate if needed.

• Once done, download the storybook and print it. You now have a unique, personalized book based on your child’s (or your own) imagination!

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IN THE KNOW

What’s trending on socials and headlines today

🚨 Chart Crime: OpenAI made some interesting data visualization choices for the GPT-5 announcement event (to put it mildly), and people are calling them out.

🥊 Punching Bag: A new model means a new wave of people trying to trip it up. One viral post showed GPT-5 making several basic math mistakes.

✨ Vibe Shift: There was a clear shift in the general mood pre and post announcement. We went from posts about mass unemployment to realizing we’ll still have jobs in a matter of hours.

The Browser Company has rolled out a $20/month subscription for the AI-powered Dia browser. Subscribers get unlimited access to Dia’s AI chat, which can answer questions about the content in your open tabs.

Meta has reportedly acquired WaveForms AI, an Andreessen Horowitz-backed startup specializing in AI that can detect and mimic emotion in audio.

xAI’s head of legal, Robert Keele, has stepped down after just over a year, citing family time and "daylight" between his worldview and Elon Musk’s. He’s being succeeded by Lily Lim, a former NASA rocket scientist turned privacy and IP specialist.

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PROMPT STATION

Persuade a Client

Prompt: Write a persuasive and engaging marketing email targeted at [recipient, e.g., a prospective client] that promotes [product or service] in a way that speaks directly to their specific goals, challenges, or industry needs. The email should begin with a strong hook to capture attention, followed by a clear and compelling explanation of the product’s most valuable features and benefits—especially those that solve a known problem or deliver a meaningful improvement. Incorporate social proof, success metrics, or real-world use cases if relevant, and maintain a tone that is confident, professional, and customer-centric throughout. Conclude the email with a clear, actionable, and motivating call to action that encourages the recipient to take the next step—such as booking a demo, starting a free trial, or scheduling a call.

Real or Rendered?

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• Check out our Top 125 AI Tools

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Until next time — Zain & the Superhuman AI team