GPT-5.6

GPT-5.6 is a model release from OpenAI, the makers of ChatGPT. Rather than being a single model, it is presented as three models that share one very large memory, each suited to a different balance of speed and depth, so the system can route a request to the right one.

The design aims to give everyday users fast answers for simple questions while reserving heavier reasoning for hard problems, without the user having to choose. A large shared context window lets it keep track of long conversations and documents.

As with most launches, the marketing highlights the wins while glossing over the trade-offs, so it is worth reading past the launch slides. Still, GPT-5.6 is a useful reference point for the current state of general-purpose AI models.