GPT-5.6: Frontier intelligence that scales with your ambition

Update on August 21, 2026: OpenAI dropped the API and credit pricing of GPT‑5.6 Sol by over 20% for the next 3 months.

Update on July 30, 2026: OpenAI reduced the price of GPT‑5.6 Luna by 80% and GPT‑5.6 Terra by 20%. Learn more here .

We’re launching the GPT‑5.6 family of models for general availability following our limited preview ⁠ : our new flagship, Sol , alongside Terra , a balanced model for everyday work, and Luna , our most cost-efficient model.

GPT‑5.6 can write and run lightweight programs that coordinate tools, process intermediate results, monitor progress, and choose the next action as work unfolds. This lets tool-heavy tasks advance with fewer tokens, fewer model round trips, and less guidance. Instead of requiring developers to script every step or passing every tool response back through the model, Programmatic Tool Calling ⁠ (opens in a new window) in the Responses API can filter large amounts of intermediate data, retain only what matters, and adapt its workflow along the way.

For problems that reward a greater investment of time and compute, GPT‑5.6 can push beyond this efficient default. max gives GPT‑5.6 even more time than xhigh to reason and explore alternatives, run checks, and revise its approach. ultra goes further by coordinating four agents in parallel by default, trading higher token use for stronger results and faster time-to-result on demanding tasks. The charts below compare ultra’s default four-agent setup with a one-agent baseline across BrowseComp, SEC-Bench Pro, and Terminal-Bench 2.1; BrowseComp and SEC-Bench Pro also show 16-agent configurations. Across all three evaluations, adding parallel agents shifts the score-latency frontier upward and to the left, reaching stronger results in less time. In the API, developers can build ultra-like experiences using the multi-agent ⁠ (opens in a new window) beta in the Responses API. , ,

GPT‑5.6 is our strongest cybersecurity model yet, achieving frontier performance with significantly fewer tokens. On ExploitBench , which measures progress from reaching vulnerable code through arbitrary code execution, it scores 73.5% versus GPT‑5.5’s 47.9% at a comparable output-token budget. On ExploitGym , which asks agents to turn real-world vulnerabilities into working exploits, it almost doubles GPT‑5.5’s peak pass rate, from 15.1% to 24.9% under the two-hour cap; with six hours, it reaches 33.7%. On SEC-Bench Pro, which tests proof-of-concept generation on complex software, it scores 71.2% versus GPT‑5.5’s 45.8% at an improved latency.

GPT‑5.6 launches with our most robust safeguards to date, designed to be resilient against determined and adaptive misuse without broadly limiting legitimate work. Before general availability, we put the models and safeguards through our most extensive evaluation period yet, combining human red teaming with large-scale automated testing. During the preview, we worked closely with expert organizations and with trusted partners to pressure-test defenses and strengthen safeguards before broader launch. The resulting system layers protections trained into the model with real-time checks, monitoring, and access calibrated to trust and risk.

Individuals can verify their identity and request trusted access ⁠ (opens in a new window) , and organizations can apply ⁠ for their teams. Individual members will need to enable Advanced Account Security ⁠ (opens in a new window) with hardware-backed passkeys by September 1 to retain access to our most cyber-capable frontier models; those who do not will return to default access. Users who do not already have hardware-backed passkeys can receive preferred pricing ⁠ (opens in a new window) from our partner, Yubico. We are also taking additional steps to restrict access to high-risk entities and in high-risk jurisdictions.

The GPT‑5.6 models are more capable than our earlier models in both biology and cybersecurity but do not cross the Critical threshold in either category. In cybersecurity, our testing suggests GPT‑5.6 is better at finding and fixing vulnerabilities than at reliably carrying out autonomous, end-to-end attacks against hardened targets—giving defenders an opportunity to strengthen systems before weaknesses are exploited. In biology, our testing suggests GPT‑5.6 can support legitimate research but does not provide the end-to-end capability needed to create, engineer, or synthesize a highly dangerous novel threat.

GPT‑5.6 Sol sets a new standard for both intelligence and efficiency, achieving state-of-the-art results across coding, knowledge work, cybersecurity, and science while outperforming previous and competing frontier models with fewer tokens and at lower estimated cost. The result is stronger performance per dollar: more successful work for the same spend, or comparable results at a lower total cost. We also introduce a new way to accelerate the most demanding work: ultra is our highest-capability setting, coordinating multiple agents across parallel workstreams to finish complex tasks faster. Stronger computer use and design judgment make GPT‑5.6 Sol our most polished collaborator yet, helping it inspect, refine, and deliver ready-to-use results.

We trained GPT‑5.6 to get more useful work from every token. On Agents’ Last Exam ⁠ (opens in a new window) , an evaluation of long-running professional workflows across 55 fields, GPT‑5.6 Sol sets a new high of 53.6, eclipsing Claude Fable 5 (adaptive reasoning) by 13.1 points. Even at medium reasoning, it beats Fable 5 by 11.4 points at roughly one-quarter the estimated cost. That efficiency extends to smaller models, which are essential to making intelligence more abundant and affordable: GPT‑5.6 Terra and GPT‑5.6 Luna outperform Fable 5 at around one-sixteenth the cost. On the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index ⁠ (opens in a new window) , a broad measure of intelligence spanning agentic work, coding, scientific reasoning, and general capabilities, GPT‑5.6 Sol with max reasoning comes within one point of Fable 5 while completing tasks in 61% less time at roughly half the estimated cost.

GPT‑5.6 Sol is our best coding model yet. On the Artificial Analysis Coding Agent Index, GPT‑5.6 Sol with max reasoning sets a new state of the art at 80, 2.8 points above Fable 5, while using less than half the output tokens, taking less than half the time, and costing about one-third less. That advantage extends across the family: Terra performs just above Fable 5, while Luna outperforms Opus 4.8; each does so in roughly one-third of the time, with about half as many output tokens, and at approximately one-quarter the estimated cost. It also sets new state-of-the-art results on Terminal‑Bench 2.1 and DeepSWE, which test complex command-line workflows and long-horizon engineering in real codebases.