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GPT-5.5 Leaves ChatGPT and Codex on October 14, 2026
On October 14, 2026, GPT 5.5 will be removed from ChatGPT, ChatGPT Work, and Codex across consumer, Business, Enterprise, and Edu plans—but not from the OpenAI API or Codex sessions authenticated with an API key. The change is a product access retirement, not a full model shutdown: the authentication path determines...
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Key takeaways
- On October 14, 2026, GPT 5.5 will be removed from ChatGPT, ChatGPT Work, and Codex across consumer, Business, Enterprise, and Edu plans—but not from the OpenAI API or Codex sessions authenticated with an API key.
- The change is a product access retirement, not a full model shutdown: the authentication path determines whether a Codex workflow is affected.
- Teams should audit workspace defaults, saved model settings, managed configurations, custom agents, scheduled tasks, scripts, and Codex launch commands that explicitly name gpt 5.5.
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openai.comCreate a landscape editorial hero image for this Studio Global article: What did OpenAI announce on September 15 about retiring GPT-5.5 from ChatGPT, ChatGPT Work, and Codex on October 14, 2026—including which su. Article summary: OpenAI said GPT‑5.5 will be removed on October 14, 2026 from ChatGPT, ChatGPT Work, and Codex for consumer, Business, Enterprise, and Edu plans. It is not an API-model shutdown: GPT‑5.5 remains available through the Open. Topic tags: general, general web, user generated, documentation. Style: premium digital editorial illustration, source-backed research mood, clean composition, high detail, modern web publication hero. Use reference image context only for broad subject, composition, and topical grounding; do not copy the exact image. Avoid: logos, brand marks, copyrighted characters, real person likenesses, fake screenshots, UI text, readable text, watermarks,
OpenAI announced on September 15 that GPT-5.5 will retire from ChatGPT, ChatGPT Work, and Codex on October 14, 2026. The cutoff applies to consumer, Business, Enterprise, and Edu plans. Crucially, it does not retire GPT-5.5 from the OpenAI API. 1
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Who is affected—and who is not
The key boundary is how Codex is authenticated:
- ChatGPT and ChatGPT Work users: GPT-5.5 will no longer be available after October 14, regardless of plan type.
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- Codex users signed in with a ChatGPT account: these users need to migrate model references away from GPT-5.5. OpenAI’s named replacement is GPT-5.6 Sol (
gpt-5.6-sol). - OpenAI API users and API-key-authenticated Codex sessions: the October 14 retirement does not apply. OpenAI said GPT-5.5 will remain available through the API Platform and in Codex sessions authenticated with an API key.
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That makes this a product-surface retirement, not a complete API-model shutdown. A workflow’s exposure therefore depends on both the product it uses and its authentication method—not simply on whether it uses Codex.
What teams should update before October 14
OpenAI specifically directs ChatGPT-authenticated Codex users to replace references to gpt-5.5. The migration audit should include:
- workspace defaults
- saved model settings
- managed configurations
- custom agents
- scheduled tasks
- scripts that select a model explicitly
- Codex CLI and IDE workflows that pass a model name, including
--modelor-mselections.
The immediate migration path OpenAI documents is:
gpt-5.5 → gpt-5.6-sol
OpenAI’s developer announcement also named GPT-6 Astra as another Codex option alongside GPT-5.6 Sol. 15 For a direct, documented replacement of a pinned GPT-5.5 Codex reference, however,
gpt-5.6-sol is the clearest choice because it is the model explicitly specified in the retirement guidance. 1
Why explicit model references are the main risk
A user who relies on a default ChatGPT experience may not have the same cleanup work as a team that has pinned GPT-5.5 across automation and configuration. The practical risk is an explicit reference that remains in a workspace setting, agent, task, or command after GPT-5.5 leaves the ChatGPT-authenticated surfaces.
There have already been user reports of Codex returning 404 Not Found or “model not found” responses for GPT-5.5 references when the model was unavailable to that access path. Those reports show why teams should test updated model IDs rather than assume a pinned configuration will be silently redirected.
How long GPT-5.5 was available in these products
GPT-5.5 began rolling out to ChatGPT and Codex users on April 23, 2026; its API availability followed on April 24. From April 23 to the October 14 ChatGPT and Codex retirement date is 174 days—just under six months.
That short lifecycle has drawn attention because OpenAI’s API deprecation documentation says generally available models normally receive at least six months’ notice before retirement, unless safety or compliance considerations require a faster timeline. But the distinction matters: the October 14 event does not remove GPT-5.5 from the API. It is a retirement from specified ChatGPT and Codex access surfaces, so it is not, on its face, an API retirement under that policy.
Some developers nevertheless objected that a roughly 29-day interval between the September 15 announcement and the product cutoff leaves little time to re-test established Codex workflows. A community request to preserve GPT-5.5 as a legacy Codex option reflects that concern, but it is not evidence of an official decision refusing such an option.
Part of a faster-moving ChatGPT and Codex model lineup
OpenAI has retired earlier models from particular product surfaces in 2026. GPT-5.2 models left ChatGPT on June 12, with existing conversations continuing on corresponding GPT-5.5 models; OpenAI said models generally remain in ChatGPT for 90 days after a successor is released. 11
The Codex changelog also says GPT-5.4 and GPT-5.4 mini will retire from Codex for ChatGPT-signed-in users on August 31, while remaining available through the OpenAI API. The supplied materials do not provide comparably strong official evidence for a GPT-5.3-Codex retirement, so that claim should not be treated as established from this announcement alone.
A practical migration checklist
- Identify the authentication path. Determine whether each Codex workflow uses ChatGPT sign-in or an API key. Only the former is within this October 14 product retirement.
- Search for
gpt-5.5. Review defaults, configuration files, agents, tasks, scripts, and command-line wrappers. - Change ChatGPT-authenticated Codex references to
gpt-5.6-sol. Test the replacement in the same environment where the workflow runs. - Do not assume API access changes on October 14. The announced cutoff does not apply to the OpenAI API or API-key Codex sessions.
- Separate confirmed guidance from speculation. OpenAI has specified the date, affected product surfaces, authentication distinction, and primary Codex replacement; broader claims about legacy-model decisions or other retirements need their own evidence.
The bottom line: teams using GPT-5.5 through ChatGPT-based Codex access should treat October 14 as a configuration migration deadline. API users are not being asked to move by this particular retirement notice, but should continue to monitor API-specific deprecation guidance. 1
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People also ask
What is the short answer to "GPT-5.5 Leaves ChatGPT and Codex on October 14, 2026"?
On October 14, 2026, GPT 5.5 will be removed from ChatGPT, ChatGPT Work, and Codex across consumer, Business, Enterprise, and Edu plans—but not from the OpenAI API or Codex sessions authenticated with an API key.
What are the key points to validate first?
On October 14, 2026, GPT 5.5 will be removed from ChatGPT, ChatGPT Work, and Codex across consumer, Business, Enterprise, and Edu plans—but not from the OpenAI API or Codex sessions authenticated with an API key. The change is a product access retirement, not a full model shutdown: the authentication path determines whether a Codex workflow is affected.
What should I do next in practice?
Teams should audit workspace defaults, saved model settings, managed configurations, custom agents, scheduled tasks, scripts, and Codex launch commands that explicitly name gpt 5.5.