Imagine a skilled detective investigating a complex crime scene. They don't just list the objects they see; they analyze blood spatter patterns, connect footprints to witness statements, deduce motives, and build a logical sequence of events. Standard AI models might be good at describing the scene (listing objects), but reasoning models act like that detective. They delve deeper, performing logical deductions, solving complex problems, and planning multi-step actions.
Why is this crucial for you? Because many real-world challenges, from writing complex software to navigating scientific research or making strategic business decisions, require more than just pattern matching or text generation. They demand genuine problem-solving intelligence. This chapter unlocks the potential of these advanced AI "detectives." We will explore:
By the end of this chapter, you'll understand how to harness these powerful capabilities to build more sophisticated and intelligent AI applications.
The GPT-series optimizes for conversational fluency; the o-series is tuned to "spend more internal tokens thinking before it speaks," yielding higher accuracy on math, code, and complex planning benchmarks.
| Model | Context window | Reasoning depth* | Unit cost† | Tool support |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| o3 | 128k | Highest | Mid | Full Chat Completions & Tools |
| o3-mini | 32k | High (≈ 70–80% of o3 on AIME) | Low | Chat Completions only; no function-calling yet |
Reasoning models are a specialized category of Artificial Intelligence designed specifically for tasks demanding logical deduction, inference, planning, and multi-step problem-solving. Unlike standard language models, which excel primarily at generating fluent and contextually relevant text (like our scene-describing AI), reasoning models are engineered to understand and manipulate abstract concepts, identify underlying logical structures, and connect disparate pieces of information to arrive at well-supported conclusions.
Think of them as the AI equivalent of a mathematician proving a theorem or a strategist planning a complex campaign. They possess enhanced capabilities for: