OpenAI will retire GPT-5.5 from ChatGPT, Work and Codex on October 14, 2026, ending the model’s run in the company’s main user-facing products less than six months after launch. The change applies across plans, including Business, Enterprise and Edu, while GPT-5.5 access through the OpenAI API will remain unaffected.
For most ChatGPT users, the transition is expected to be largely automatic. The immediate operational impact is likely to fall on Codex users and organizations that have explicitly selected GPT-5.5 in their workspaces, managed setups or automated workflows.
- Check the workspace’s default model.
- Review saved settings that specify gpt-5.5.
- Update managed configurations.
- Review custom agents.
- Check scheduled tasks.
- Update scripts that explicitly select GPT-5.5.
OpenAI recommends gpt-5.6-sol for Codex users authenticated with a ChatGPT account. GPT-5.6 Sol is positioned for complex coding, research and knowledge-work tasks, but users with workflows tuned around GPT-5.5 may still need to validate behavior after changing models.
GPT-5.5 launched on April 23, 2026, when OpenAI described it as its most intelligent and intuitive model for practical work, programming, research and tool use. Its October 14 retirement comes roughly 174 days later, following the introduction of the GPT-5.6 Sol, Terra and Luna family.
The short lifecycle underscores how quickly model choices can become a maintenance concern for developers and teams. Applications using GPT-5.5 through the OpenAI API do not have to migrate by the October deadline, but Codex configurations pinned to the model will need to move to GPT-5.6 Sol or another supported option before then.
