Accelerating scientific discovery with ChatGPT for Academic Researchers

Update on August 10, 2026: New applicants will now join a waitlist while we review the more than 13,000 first-wave applications—representing up to 65,000 researcher seats—and select the initial 10,000-seat cohort through a lottery among eligible applicants. Those not selected in this cohort will remain eligible for future selection rounds when applications reopen later this fall. This will allow us to focus on supporting the first group of researchers as we expand the program.

We believe the benefits of frontier AI should not be concentrated in a few companies and well-resourced labs. Scientific progress depends on researchers asking the right questions, testing new ideas, and building on what others have discovered. Our role is to put powerful tools in their hands—and work alongside them to design models that accelerate their research while keeping them in control.

We’re introducing ChatGPT for Academic Researchers, a program that will give 100,000 researchers at selected academic institutions free access to our frontier models. The program will help researchers across the sciences, mathematics, and engineering take on advanced problems, accelerate discovery, and improve productivity, from preparing grant applications to testing hypotheses.

Share of scientific research requests by scientific workflow category and product, June 21–July 20, 2026

We’re starting with 10,000 researchers this summer, with access already available at institutions such as the Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) and École normale supérieure (ENS). We plan to expand to 100,000 researchers through 2027. Participants will have access to our frontier models, including GPT‑5.6 ⁠ Sol Pro at launch, and can invite up to four collaborators from their institution. Workspaces include business-grade privacy and security protections, and data is not used to train our models by default. Researchers can use tools and skills to support work ranging from genomic analysis and protein modeling to literature reviews, grant writing, and publishing.

The program also includes training, hands-on support, and opportunities to learn from other researchers and share feedback with us.

ChatGPT for Academic Researchers is part of a commitment of more than $250 million through 2027 to support external scientific research and discovery. That includes NextGenAI , our $50 million initiative supporting research institutions, and our work with the Department of Energy’s Genesis Mission ⁠ to bring frontier AI to researchers at national laboratories and universities. Together, these efforts reflect our belief that scientific progress accelerates when more researchers have the tools to pursue their own ideas.

For institutions with ChatGPT Edu, free access granted through this program will be coordinated through the institution's workspace. Learn more about ChatGPT Edu and how OpenAI supports higher education.

AI is becoming a more capable research tool faster than many expected. Each week, roughly 1.3 million people use ChatGPT for advanced science and mathematics, generating about 8.4 million messages.

The shift is especially visible in mathematics. In the past six months, AI has moved from occasional use on isolated problems to a more regular part of mathematical research. A growing number of papers now acknowledge ChatGPT’s contribution, reflecting how quickly researchers are adopting these tools in their work.