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OpenAI Retires GPT-5.5 from ChatGPT as Users Migrate to the GPT-5.6 Family

GPT-5.5 now runs only through the API. If you use the ChatGPT consumer app, the model you have been chatting with since April is gone — replaced by GPT-5.6 Sol, Terra, and Luna.

AI & Tech ADS News · 5 min read

What changed

Beginning today, October 14, 2026, OpenAI removed gpt-5.5 from ChatGPT, Work, and Codex across consumer, business, enterprise, and edu plans. If you have been using the model that launched in April 2026, the picker in your consumer ChatGPT app no longer shows it. Your API access is not affected — the gpt-5.5 endpoint remains available through the platform.

The replacement is the GPT-5.6 family — gpt-5.6-sol, gpt-5.6-terra, and gpt-5.6-luna. Previewed on June 26 and deployed for general availability on July 9, the lineup is built on the pt-5.6 engine family and sits at the frontier of the current model hierarchy.

Why it matters

This is a consumer-side retirement while the API stays intact — a pattern OpenAI has used before. For most ChatGPT users, the practical effect is that conversations now route to a newer, generally more capable model. For developers who pin gpt-5.5 in the API, nothing has broken: your calls keep working.

Migration path

ChatGPT consumer users are steered to gpt-5.6-sol. Programmers using OpenAI's gpt-5.5 endpoint in code or workflows see no change — the API endpoint is still live. No prompt or integration migration is required unless you intentionally switch to 5.6.

What this means for you

  • ChatGPT consumers: the GPT-5.5 picker option is gone; new sessions use GPT-5.6 by default.
  • Codex / agentic tool users: GPT-5.5 is removed from the app; GPT-5.6 Sol takes over.
  • API developers pinning gpt-5.5: no action needed — the endpoint remains available.
  • If you want the newer model, switch your default to gpt-5.6-sol or the 5.6 family.

Bottom line

OpenAI is quietly rotating its consumer-facing flagship from GPT-5.5 to GPT-5.6 today. Nothing is broken, but the model you have been interacting with in ChatGPT all spring is now one generation behind. If you are an API developer, the transition is optional and at your pace.

Sources: OpenAI — GPT-5.5 retirement note (Oct 14, 2026); OpenAI — Model release notes.

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