GPT-5.6 Release Model Changed

OpenAI has agreed to stagger the public release of GPT-5.6 after the Trump administration formally requested the company limit initial access to a select group of government-approved partners.

On June 25, 2026, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman informed employees that GPT-5.6 would initially be released only to a limited group of enterprise partners. According to a memo from Altman, the government will be “approving access customer by customer during this preview period.”

The request for this staggered rollout came from two key federal bodies: the Office of the National Cyber Director and the Office of Science and Technology Policy. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick reportedly advised OpenAI against launching GPT-5.6 without cross-agency approvals.

OpenAI’s Position

Sam Altman stated: “We’ve made clear to the U.S. government that this is not our preferred long-term model, and will work with them and others in industry to achieve a more sustainable approach for future releases.”

The broader rollout of GPT-5.6 is expected a “couple of weeks” after the limited preview period, contingent on how the government-managed approval process proceeds.

Context: Anthropic’s Model Taken Offline

This move follows significant regulatory action against Anthropic. On June 12, 2026, the Trump administration issued an export control directive compelling Anthropic to take its latest models, Fable 5 and Mythos 5, entirely offline to prevent access by foreign nationals.

Anthropic’s Mythos model had been distributed to roughly 40 organizations, including Google, Microsoft, and JPMorgan Chase, via Project Glasswing before being taken offline. Both OpenAI and the Trump administration view GPT-5.6 as “on par” with Anthropic’s Mythos in terms of advanced capabilities, particularly in cybersecurity.

Source: Cyber Security News