OpenAI Introduces GPT-5.6: The New Three-Tier AI Model Family Now Accessible to All
OpenAI has officially made its most potent AI model family, the GPT-5.6 series, available to the public as of July 9, 2026. This series includes three unique models: the flagship Sol, the balanced and cost-effective Terra, and the fastest, most affordable model, Luna.
The unveiling followed a government-regulated limited preview that started on June 26. During this period, access was limited to a select group of trusted partners, as per the Trump administration’s request. This was in line with an AI cybersecurity executive order that called for voluntary safety reviews of frontier AI models.
The Department of Commerce’s Center for AI Standards and Innovation (CAISI) carried out further safety tests before approving the models for widespread release. This process was completed quicker than the projected 30-day period. The GPT-5.6 Sol is OpenAI’s most advanced model yet, setting a new standard on Terminal-Bench 2.1 for command-line coding workflows and showcasing significant progress in biology and cybersecurity tasks.
The API pricing is as follows:
- Sol: $5/$30 per million input/output tokens
- Terra: $2.50/$15 per million input/output tokens
- Luna: $1/$6 per million input/output tokens
All three models feature a 1.05 million token context window and are now accessible across ChatGPT, Codex, and the OpenAI API. Moreover, GPT-5.6 has been incorporated into Microsoft 365 Copilot, becoming the preferred model in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Alongside the launch, OpenAI also introduced a new voice AI product, GPT-Live.
Source: CNBC – OpenAI to publicly release GPT-5.6, rolls out conversational AI models