OpenAI has introduced its newest family of AI models, adding another heavyweight entrant to an already crowded field of AI offerings.
Announced on Thursday, GPT-5.6 arrives in three variants: Sol, positioned as the workhorse model; Terra, a mid-tier option; and Luna, the budget-friendly pick. Together, the three models are meant to widen what users can do across enterprise work, coding and scientific research.
Altman touts efficiency gains
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has framed the release around cost and efficiency rather than raw power alone. He recently told a media outlet that Sol is 54% more token-efficient on AI coding tasks compared to the company’s earlier models, a figure OpenAI is leaning on heavily in its pitch to developers and enterprise customers.
A cybersecurity-first pitch
OpenAI is calling GPT-5.6 its “strongest cybersecurity model yet,” saying it hits frontier-level performance while using significantly fewer tokens than before. The model is built to support defensive security work, including threat modeling, code review and patching, and blue teaming, where a system’s own weaknesses are tested before real attackers can exploit them.
That cybersecurity framing has attracted extra scrutiny. The Trump administration had previously pushed to restrict the model’s rollout over concerns about potential misuse, putting GPT-5.6’s release under more political attention than a typical model update.
ChatGPT Work debuts alongside the models
Alongside GPT-5.6, OpenAI rolled out a new product called ChatGPT Work, an enterprise-facing companion built for desktop, web and mobile. It’s designed to help with everyday office tasks such as drafting documents, building spreadsheets and putting together presentations.
The launch lands in the same week as comparable releases from rivals SpaceXAI and Meta, underlining how fast the pace of frontier model releases has become.
The real target looks like Anthropic
Much of GPT-5.6’s marketing appears aimed less at the wider field and more squarely at Anthropic, which has built a reputation as the enterprise-friendly alternative in the AI race and has been steadily growing its customer base as a result.
To make its case, OpenAI points to the Artificial Analysis Coding Agent Index, a widely followed benchmarking metric, arguing that its new model family beats Anthropic’s lineup across the board.
OpenAI describes Sol as its “best coding model yet” and draws a direct comparison to Anthropic’s recently released Fable model. According to OpenAI’s figures, Sol scores 80 on the Coding Agent Index — 2.8 points ahead of Fable 5 — while using less than half the output tokens, taking less than half the time and costing roughly a third less. OpenAI also says the advantage carries through the rest of the family, with Terra scoring just above Fable 5 and Luna outperforming Anthropic’s Opus 4.8.
Pricing and availability
GPT-5.6 is now live across ChatGPT, Codex and the OpenAI API. Per-million-token pricing is set as follows:
- Sol: $5 input / $30 output
- Terra: $2.50 input / $15 output
- Luna: $1 input / $6 output
Read More: OpenAI launches its new family of models with GPT-5.6
FAQs:
What is GPT-5.6?
GPT-5.6 is OpenAI’s newest model family, released in three tiers — Sol, Terra and Luna — aimed at coding, enterprise work and scientific research.
What are Sol, Terra and Luna?
Sol is the flagship, high-capability model; Terra is a mid-tier, balanced option; and Luna is the fastest and cheapest model in the lineup.
How much does GPT-5.6 cost?
Per million tokens: Sol costs $5 input/$30 output, Terra costs $2.50 input/$15 output, and Luna costs $1 input/$6 output.
Is GPT-5.6 better than Anthropic’s models?
OpenAI claims Sol scores 80 on the Artificial Analysis Coding Agent Index, 2.8 points above Anthropic’s Fable 5, while using fewer tokens and costing less. Terra reportedly edges out Fable 5, and Luna reportedly beats Opus 4.8, according to OpenAI’s own figures.
What is ChatGPT Work?
ChatGPT Work is a new enterprise tool from OpenAI, available on desktop, web and mobile, built to help teams with tasks like drafting documents, spreadsheets and presentations.
