OpenAI Releases Prompting Guide for New GPT-5.1...

Publication Date: 18.11.2025

Overview

Author: Matthias Bastian
Source: THE DECODER
Date: November 15, 2025 [⚠️ Still to be verified - date is in the future]
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

Article Summary

What is it about? OpenAI has introduced a new AI model GPT-5.1 and published a comprehensive prompting guide. The topic is relevant as it should enable developers to have more precise control over AI systems.

Important facts:

GPT-5.1 offers more precise control of tone, structure, and response length
New tool "apply_patch" should reduce error rate in programming tasks by 35 percent
"shell" tool enables controlled command execution for code tasks
"none" reasoning mode available for migration of GPT-4.1 users
Metaprompting function analyzes own prompts and suggests improvements
Verbosity parameter controls scope of model responses globally and situationally
Recommendation for explicit task planning and reflection in prompts

Affected groups:

Developers and programmers integrating AI systems
Companies with support bots or coding assistants
AI researchers and system prompt designers

Opportunities & Risks:

Opportunities: More precise AI control, fewer programming errors, more efficient workflows
Risks: Increased complexity, potential dependency on proprietary systems

Recommendations: Developers should study the prompting guide and plan migration step by step. Particularly important is adapting the prompt structure for complete task processing.

Looking to the Future

Short-term (1 year): Increased adoption of GPT-5.1 in development environments, first practical experiences with new tools.

Medium-term (5 years): Establishment of advanced prompting techniques as standard, possibly further tool developments and competing products.

Long-term (10-20 years): Evolution to self-optimizing AI systems that can independently develop prompts further.

Fact Check

35 percent error reduction with "apply_patch" - Source: OpenAI statement [⚠️ Still to be verified - no independent verification]
Publication date November 15, 2025 seems incorrect [⚠️ Still to be verified - date is in the future]: 18.11.2025
Availability of GPT-5.1 - status unclear [⚠️ Still to be verified - no confirmation of public availability]

Additional Sources

Due to the possibly incorrect date, no additional current sources could be identified. Recommendation: Direct verification with OpenAI and tech-relevant news sources.

Source List

Original source: OpenAI Releases Prompting Guide for New GPT-5.1 Model - THE DECODER
Additional sources:
1. [⚠️ Still to be determined - due to date issue]
2. [⚠️ Still to be determined - due to date issue]
3. [⚠️ Still to be determined - due to date issue]
Facts verified: Partially - date and availability require verification

Brief Summary

OpenAI allegedly introduces GPT-5.1, an improved AI model that offers developers more precise control options. The metaprompting and new programming tools could significantly increase the efficiency of AI applications. Critical to verify are however the availability of the model and the mentioned performance improvements, as the publication date appears questionable.: 18.11.2025

Three Key Questions

Transparency: What concrete data and benchmarks prove the claimed 35 percent error reduction, and are these independently verified?
Responsibility: How does OpenAI ensure that the increased autonomy of GPT-5.1 in independent task processing does not lead to uncontrollable system behavior?
Innovation vs. Dependency: Does the increasing complexity of prompt engineering requirements promote genuine innovation or create new dependencies on proprietary AI systems?