More control over how ChatGPT sounds
OpenAI has introduced new personalization controls with the release of GPT-5.2, allowing users to further customize the chatbot’s tone after complaints that recent updates felt too cold or overly professional.
The new options are designed to give users greater influence over how ChatGPT communicates, addressing feedback from those who found the assistant rude, sassy, or less conversational than before.
New personalization options explained
In a post on X, OpenAI said users can now adjust four additional characteristics in the Personalization settings:
- Warm
- Enthusiastic
- Header & Lists
- Emoji
Each option can be set to more, less, or left at the default level. This allows users to fine-tune whether ChatGPT feels friendlier, more energetic, more structured, or more expressive in its replies.
Building on earlier tone controls
These additions follow changes introduced about a month earlier, when OpenAI added Professional, Candid, and Quirky styles under the “Base style and tone” section of the same Personalization tab. Together, the settings give users significantly more flexibility to shape how the assistant responds across different use cases.
Response to earlier backlash
The expanded customization appears to be a direct response to criticism earlier this year, when OpenAI rolled out GPT-5 as a replacement for GPT-4o. Many users complained that the newer model felt less friendly and more robotic, prompting OpenAI to allow model selection again and publicly commit to making GPT-5 sound warmer and more approachable.
With GPT-5.2, OpenAI is signaling that tone and personality are not one-size-fits-all. Instead, users can now tailor ChatGPT’s behavior to better match their preferences, whether they want concise professionalism or a more upbeat, conversational assistant.
