I mean, if they're building on top of what is commonly understood as a generative pre-trained transformer model[1], then that just seems accurate? Although, I do agree that it's pretty cringe when they do it purely as a deceptive marketing tactic rather than to communicate meaningful information.
It's a necessary marketing tactic lately to surface AI projects above the bullshit hype. The AI space hypesters who do podcasts and speak at conferences do not care about cringe.
The real deterrent to adding GPT to a project name is a cease-and-desist from OpenAI.
It may be cringe, but at the same time it undermines the ability for OpenAI to enforce its trademark, which means the “GPT” word will remain in the public domain, so it's not entirely useless at least ;).
