Can OpenAI's New o1 Model Outperform Its Predecessors in Common Eye Care Queries?

The newly launched OpenAI o1 is said to offer improved reasoning, potentially providing higher quality responses to eye care queries. However, its performance remains unassessed. We evaluated the performance of o1, ChatGPT-4o, and ChatGPT-4 in addressing ophthalmic-related queries, focusing on correctness, completeness, and readability.

Cross-sectional study.

Sixteen queries, previously identified as suboptimally responded to by ChatGPT-4 from prior studies, were used, covering 3 subtopics: myopia (6 questions), ocular symptoms (4 questions), and retinal conditions (6 questions).

For each subtopic, 3 attending-level ophthalmologists, masked to the model sources, evaluated the responses based on correctness, completeness, and readability (on a 5-point scale for each metric).

Mean summed scores of each model for correctness, completeness, and readability, rated on a 5-point scale (maximum score: 15).

O1 scored highest in correctness (12.6) and readability (14.2), outperforming ChatGPT-4, which scored 10.3 (P = 0.010) and 12.4 (P < 0.001), respectively. No significant difference was found between o1 and ChatGPT-4o. When stratified by subtopics, o1 consistently demonstrated superior correctness and readability. In completeness, ChatGPT-4o achieved the highest score of 12.4, followed by o1 (10.8), though the difference was not statistically significant. o1 showed notable limitations in completeness for ocular symptom queries, scoring 5.5 out of 15.

While o1 is marketed as offering improved reasoning capabilities, its performance in addressing eye care queries does not significantly differ from its predecessor, ChatGPT-4o. Nevertheless, it surpasses ChatGPT-4, particularly in correctness and readability.

Proprietary or commercial disclosure may be found in the Footnotes and Disclosures at the end of this article.