OpenAI plans to limit the initial release of its latest AI model GPT-5.6 to a small group of trusted partners rather than making it immediately available to the public, according to multiple reports. The move comes after the Trump administration requested a limited rollout, The Information reported.
At an internal staff meeting this week, CEO Sam Altman said the government would be “approving access customer by customer” during the preview period. He added that if the limited rollout proceeds smoothly, OpenAI hopes to expand access with a broader public release “a couple of weeks later.”
According to The Information, OpenAI’s new model is not only being reviewed by the administration but the AI company staffers also “worked closely” with the government on the upcoming release. The Office of the National Cyber Director and The Office of Science and Technology Policy are the agencies that reportedly asked for a limited release.
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“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,” Altman said in a memo, according to The Information. A White House official told CNN they continue “to collaborate with frontier AI labs to develop shared approaches for addressing the challenges of scaling this technology.”
Earlier OpenAI’s competitor, Anthropic had announced its new frontier cyber model Claude Mythos would only be released to a small number of partners through a program called Project Glasswing. Anthropic argued that its model was simply too powerful and could, in the wrong hands, cause more harm than good. There has been some debate over whether this move comes from genuine safety concerns, or if it is a marketing gimmick.
Anthropic recently pulled Mythos, and Fable — a version of the model available to the public — after the administration placed an export control order on Anthropic. Those models raised fears in Washington and on Wall Street over their advanced cybersecurity capabilities, which some worry could lead to unprecedented safety risks.
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While President Donald Trump had signed an executive order earlier this that asked AI companies with advanced models to voluntarily submit them for government review 30 days before release, the framework for that has not been established. So right now, there is confusion about who or which agency is directing AI regulation, according to CNN.
“The Fable episode shows the need for clear regulations. Right now, you have an ad hoc, personalized, opaque, possibly lawless approach,” Brad Carson, head of Public First, a bipartisan pro-AI safety super PAC told CNN last week. “It is certainly appropriate for the government to recall dangerous products, including AI models, but it has to be done in a way consistent with transparency and basic fairness.”