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- OpenAI rolls out GPT-5.1: Smarter Reasoning, Warmer Conversation 🤯
OpenAI rolls out GPT-5.1: Smarter Reasoning, Warmer Conversation 🤯
How to Use AI to Learn What Your Customers Want
Gina Acosta
November 13, 2025
In partnership with
Welcome to another edition of Horizon AI,
OpenAI announced its new model update, GPT-5.1, which delivers faster responses, improved reasoning, and more personalised controls.
Let’s jump into it!
Read Time: 4.5 min
Here's what's new today in the Horizon AI
OpenAI Launches the "GPT-5.1" 🚀
IBM study Shows Data readiness lagging behind AI ambitions
AI Tutorial: How to Use AI to Learn What Your Customers Want
AI Tools to check out
AI Findings/Resources
The Latest in AI and Tech 💡
AI News
OPENAI
OpenAI Launches the "GPT-5.1"
OpenAI has announced the release of GPT-5.1, an iterative upgrade to the GPT-5 model series, which aims to strike a balance between enhanced intelligence and improved conversational style. This update introduces two core models: GPT-5.1 Instant and GPT-5.1 Thinking, both of which are designed to improve at following instructions and provide a more empathetic and enjoyable user experience.
Details:
Two Core Model Updates:
GPT-5.1 Instant: The most-used model, now "warmer, more intelligent," and better at following instructions, with a conversational default tone.
GPT-5.1 Thinking: The advanced reasoning model, which is now faster on simple tasks and more persistent on complex ones by adapting its thinking time dynamically.
GPT-5.1 Instant now utilizes adaptive reasoning to decide when to "think before responding" to complex questions, leading to higher accuracy on difficult evaluations like AIME 2025 and Codeforces.
Responses from both models are now clearer, with less jargon, and the default tone is warmer and more empathetic.
OpenAI is introducing more intuitive and effective controls, including new preset styles (like Professional, Candid, and Quirky), and experimenting with the ability for users to tune characteristics like conciseness, warmth, or emoji frequency directly in the settings.
GPT-5.1 Instant and Thinking are rolling out immediately, starting with paid users (Pro, Plus, Go, Business), with API access to follow later this week
The update also includes major advancements in personalization, allowing users to fine-tune ChatGPT's tone and style across conversations.
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The best part? You can try Skej for free right now.
AI RESEARCH
IBM study Shows Data readiness lagging behind AI ambitions
A new global study by the IBM Institute for Business Value, based on insights from 1,700 Chief Data Officers (CDOs) worldwide, reveals a significant "AI-data gap" within the enterprise. While companies are aggressively scaling their AI initiatives and making massive investments, many CDOs admit that their underlying data infrastructure is not yet mature enough to unlock the technology's full potential.
Details:
81% of CDOs prioritize AI investments, but only 26% are confident their organization can use complex unstructured data (key for generative AI) to deliver business value.
To close this gap, 81% of CDOs choose to "bring AI to data" rather than centralizing all data.
92% of CDOs must now focus on business outcomes and using data for a competitive advantage.
The lack of skilled professionals is growing, with 47% of CDOs citing the attraction/retention of advanced data talent as a top challenge.
This study by the IBM Institute highlights a crucial shift in the CDO's roles and major challenges hindering AI adoption at scale.
AI Tutorial
How to Use AI to See What Your Customers Truly Want
Visit GWI SPARK, and create a free account or log in if you already have one.
Choose the country or region you want data from. If your country isn't available, select a similar market (e.g., South Africa for Sub-Saharan Africa).
Type a natural question that defines your audience’s demographics or behavioral traits, like:
· "What platforms do Gen Z in Thailand use most?"
· "How do online shoppers in the UK decide to buy?"
· Spark will pull data and show insights in seconds.
You’ll see a feed of insight cards showing stats, comparisons, and visual highlights to instantly understand what drives that audience, such as:
“65% of Gen Zs discover brands through influencers.”
“Business decision-makers are 3× more likely to trust companies with strong sustainability messaging.”
You can also refine your search with follow-ups, like
"Only show Gen Z females."
Export visuals or copy data into your reports. Now you can turn those insights into action and implement them to shape content and campaign messaging, refine product positioning, or identify new customer motivations
💡 Pro Tip: Combine Spark's insights with tools like Google Trends or Meta Audience Insights for a complete picture of your audience.
AI Tools to check out
✨ VoxDeck: AI tool that turns one sentence into a full narrated presentation.
🕶 EvenRealities: AR glasses with contextual AI and floating 3D visuals.
🗣 Talo: Real-time AI translator for calls, events, presentations, and streaming
📱 Superapp: AI full-stack engineer to build native for iOS apps.
🚀 Airia: An all-in-one platform that enables organizations to build, deploy, and manage AI-powered agents securely and at scale.
TOGETHER WITH ROKU
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As with any digital ad campaign, the important thing is to reach streaming audiences who will convert. Roku’s self-service Ads Manager stands ready with powerful segmentation and targeting — plus creative upscaling tools that transform existing assets into CTV-ready video ads. Bonus: we’re gifting you $5K in ad credits when you spend your first $5K on Roku Ads Manager. Just sign up and use code GET5K. Terms apply.
AI Findings/Resources
🚀 Think you can spot AI model switching? Play The Grid Game and prove it. $10k prize pool for top global scorer.
💡 Step up Your Workflow with these 31 Ways You Can Use AI Today (2025 Guide)
🔓 65% of Startups from the Forbes AI 50 have some verified leaked secrets
🧠 AI Tools in Society: Impacts on Cognitive Offloading and the Future of Critical Thinking
The latest in AI and Tech
The Swedish self-driving truck and freight technology company Einride is planning to go public by merging with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC).
Baidu has introduced its latest generation of AI processors and new supercomputing solutions, significantly boosting its domestic hardware capabilities for large-scale AI model training and deployment.
Samsung's new Vision AI Companion is a conversational, generative AI assistant integrated into 2025 TV models, offering features like complex Q&A, content upscaling, and live translation via a dedicated remote button.
Data Silos Are Holding Back Enterprise AI Scale
According to IBM's Chief Data Officer, Ed Lovely, the biggest barrier to scaling enterprise AI is not the technology itself, but rather fragmented data silos across organizations, which turn every AI project into a lengthy and costly data-cleansing effort.
At the Singapore FinTech Festival 2025, Ant Digital Technologies unveiled its comprehensive suite of financial AI solutions, including the Agentar agent platform, the ZOLOZ security platform, and the new LaV-CoT multilingual reasoning framework.
That’s a wrap!
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Gina 👩🏻💻