Key OpenAI Models and Concepts

OpenAI is a technology company that launched in 2015 and intends to create “safe and beneficial” artificial intelligence tools. In 2022, they released ChatGPT, a chatbot powered by a language learning model. 

Most people associate OpenAI with ChatGPT, but the tech giant has also developed multiple other AI tools that generate videos and images. It also integrates with new-gen content creation tools like Captions, where you can create video assets and edit them in one app.

All of these OpenAI models can speed up the content creation process — read on to learn about the best OpenAI features to use when integrating AI into your work.

What’s an AI Model?

AI models are trained on massive datasets, which can include text, images, and audio recordings. They analyze patterns in this data to perform specific tasks based on user input. For instance, they generate text, create images, or recognize speech.

These tools make predictions and recommendations on everything from how stocks will perform to which band you should listen to next based on your current taste in music. While these are great for everyday use, you can also use AI models in a more professional capacity, like making content. In the realm of social media content creation, AI models within Captions assist with multiple tasks, including:

• Creating images for video thumbnails
• Developing brand logos
• Generating short-form videos
• Creating voiceovers
• Adding subtitles to posts
• Translating audio into different languages
• Casting digital avatars in posts

Top OpenAI Models and Their Uses

Below are descriptions of OpenAI’s main models and how you can use them.

Generative Pre-Trained Transformer (GPT) Models

Researchers and engineers train GPT models to understand human language and generate relevant replies based on your input. Standard GPT models only process text, while multimodal models can analyze both writing and images.

During a conversation, GPT keeps track of what you’ve said and adjusts its responses accordingly. However, it doesn’t retain information from previous discussions. Once a new chat begins, past exchanges are lost. While this may seem limiting, it also allows you to restart conversations and potentially receive more relevant responses. 

OpenAI has released several GPT models, each with their own specialties and benefits.

GPT-3.5

GPT-3.5 is one of the platform’s legacy models. GPT-3.5 and GPT 3.5 Turbo work well for basic research, email drafting, and AI conversations. 

The 4 Series

ChatGPT has many services on this level, including: 

• GPT-4 — An older version of the tool that’s still more advanced than 3.5.
• GPT-4 Turbo — An improvement on GPT-4, designed to be cheaper and higher intelligence. 
• 4o mini — A more cost-effective model aimed at fine-tuning text. 
• ChatGPT 4o — A newer model that’s optimized for a larger range of tasks.
• GPT 4.5 — A preview model ideal for answering creative requests and completing tasks without being told to do so.

Reasoning Models

While GPTs are designed to sound like people, reasoning models aim to think like them. They break tasks down into multiple steps and address them one at a time, replicating how a person might solve a similar problem. OpenAI’s reasoning models are called the O-series, which includes o3-mini, o1-mini, and o1. 

o3-mini is OpenAI’s newest iteration, but all three are designed for advanced problem-solving and complex reasoning. For instance, they can find the average price of products in a set of sales data or write custom code for a web page.

Vision and Image Generation Models 

If you include visual components in your content creation, try one of OpenAI’s image generation models. 

DALL-E

DALL-E creates highly detailed images based on your text prompts. It produces art in a wide range of styles, from hyperrealistic photography to cartoony anime. 

The newest iteration, DALL-E 3, has improved its understanding of sentence context, so it’s better at following complex instructions and producing accurate results. Further, after generating the image, the platform now allows you to send follow-up messages to refine the output. This new series suits most types of content creation, including digital art, AI marketing material, and product design.

CLIP

CLIP stands for Contrastive Language-Image Pretraining, and it helps AI understand how to pair specific text and images. Similar to other models, CLIP learns from huge datasets of pictures and associated captions. Over time, it associates specific phrases with these visuals. 

While CLIP itself doesn’t generate images, it has three related functions:

• Retrieves images based on text input — It can find pictures when given relevant descriptions.
• Assists AI image generation tools — CLIP helps DALL-E and similar models understand user queries more accurately.
• Recognizes unfamiliar images — Even if you ask CLIP to identify a picture it’s never seen before, it can use pattern recognition to find the photo's subject.

This model has a wide range of use cases — along with helping image generation tools understand text prompts, CLIP also has applications in content moderation, accessibility platforms, and image search.

Speech and Audio Models

Like other AI models, speech and audio models are trained on large datasets of spoken language, such as podcasts, audiobooks, and conversations. They turn sound into spectrograms, which are visual representations of audio. 

By studying these patterns, AI learns speech traits like tone, pitch, and pronunciation. This technology powers voice assistants like Siri and Alexa, automatic transcription tools like YouTube captions, and accessibility tools like speech-to-text services.

Below are a couple of OpenAI’s main audio tools.

Whisper

Whisper is a speech recognition model that turns spoken language into text across multiple languages. Instead of just recognizing individual words, the tool learns patterns in human conversations. This allows it to handle different accents and remain accurate even in noisy environments.

For content creators, Whisper is especially useful for automatically generating and translating subtitles. It also helps with more creative workflows, such as writing tweets on the go or drafting podcast transcripts.

OpenAI Text-to-Speech

Text-to-speech, or TTS, models convert writing into natural-sounding narration. OpenAI offers two of these models: 

• TTS-1 is optimized for speed — it’s better for real-time interactions.
• TTS-1 HD focuses on higher-quality, realistic voiceovers.

TTS is widely used in streaming, where viewers can pay to have messages read aloud during live broadcasts. Beyond that, creators use TTS for AI assistants, digital voiceovers, and even virtual characters.

Embedding and Moderation Models

Embedding models capture the meaning and relationships between words, sentences, and documents. They help social media platforms and search engines categorize and recommend relevant content.

Moderation models, on the other hand, analyze content to detect and filter inappropriate material. Social media platforms often use them to remove spam, flag offensive comments, and block harmful messages during live streams.

OpenAI Embedding Models

OpenAI embedding models convert text into numbers for search and categorization purposes. There are three options to choose from:

• text-embedding-ada-002 is the oldest version that’s still available, offering decent performance but lower speed and accuracy.
• text-embedding-3-small is the fastest option, optimized for efficiency while maintaining solid performance.
• text-embedding-3-large is the most advanced model, providing higher accuracy and better multilingual understanding.

This technology powers social media algorithms by understanding the meaning behind posts, not just keywords. It helps platforms pull up more relevant search results and recommend content based on people’s browsing history.

OpenAI Moderation Models

OpenAI’s newest model, omni-moderation, detects harmful or inappropriate content across both text and images. It offers real-time detection, flagging content before it’s uploaded or during live streams.

Compared to previous models, omni-moderation is better at analyzing context, making it more effective at identifying sarcasm, coded language, and subtle policy violations. Creators and platforms can customize the tool to match their moderation policies, making it a powerful resource for maintaining safe online spaces.

How To Access OpenAI Models Using Captions

Captions has partnered with OpenAI to bring you the best in generative models under one intuitive dashboard. With a single subscription, Captions users have access to tools like DALL-E 3 and TTS-1, all designed to simplify content creation. Here’s how to use these powerful tools: 

• Upload footage — Import a video to Captions. 
• Select your output — Head to the sidebar on the left-hand side of the screen, and select whether you want to generate images, videos, sound effects, music, or voiceovers.
• Choose a model — Pick which OpenAI tool you want to use. 
• Insert a prompt — Write a detailed description of your desired output.
• Generate and edit — Create the visual or audio effects, then insert them into your active project. Adjust where the output appears in the video, how long it’s on screen, and more, all within Captions’ editing interface.

Factors To Consider When Choosing a Model

When selecting an OpenAI model for your content creation needs, keep the following in mind.

OpenAI Costs vs. Performance

Generally, the more sophisticated and complex the model, the higher the price. If you’re just looking to fine-tune your article wording or perfect your brand identity, free or low-cost services may be enough to suit your goals. However, if you’re working with visuals or multiple languages, you might need to go beyond basic GPT models and explore newer reasoning, vision, and image-generation tools.

OpenAI Speed and Latency

If you’ve ever asked the free version of ChatGPT a question, you may encounter a lag between your input and ChatGPT’s output. Consider a more robust model if speed matters for your generative AI use and applications.

OpenAI Fine-Tuning and Customization

Some models allow for greater user control, often working with your specific data or domain. However, these models tend to cost more and are more difficult for beginners to manage. Strike a balance between a particular model’s limitations and your capabilities to find a platform that works well without manual tweaks and advanced knowledge.

OpenAI Multimodal Capabilities

If you’re generating images, audio, video, or any combination of the three, you might require a newer OpenAI model that supports multiple input types. This computing power will come at a higher cost, but it’ll speed up your overall workflow.

Enhance Your AI-Generated Content With Captions

You can access these OpenAI models through Captions, making it easier to integrate AI-generated content into your video projects. Captions is an all-in-one studio that uses AI to help creators navigate the entire content creation process, from scripting to recording to editing.

Seamlessly turn AI-generated content into compelling video scripts, transcribe subtitles, and refine storytelling. You can even customize AI Influencers to further speed up your content strategy. 

Make content at scale with Captions.