OpenAI to Limit Initial GPT 5.6 Access Following Government Review

OpenAI will distribute its newest model, GPT 5.6, only to a select group of partners rather than the general public. The company said the change follows direction from federal agencies that reviewed the model before release. Staff from those offices worked closely with OpenAI on the upcoming release.

At a staff meeting this week, CEO Sam Altman told employees that the government would approve access on a customer-by-customer basis during the preview period. Altman added that a wider release could follow a couple of weeks later if the initial phase proceeds without issues.

The administration previously described its AI policy as hands-off. In recent months it has shifted toward requesting voluntary pre-release testing of frontier models. Earlier this month the president signed an executive order directing certain AI companies to submit new models for government evaluation before public release.

Anthropic adopted a similar approach earlier this year when it limited access to its frontier cyber model, Claude Mythos, through a program called Project Glasswing. The company stated the model was too powerful for wider distribution. OpenAI’s move aligns its release strategy with the one Anthropic already follows for its most capable systems.