OpenAI Has New AI Models. Here’s Why You Can’t Use Them

Published 26 June 2026 · tech

OpenAI is delaying the public release of its next generation of AI models, GPT-5.6, at the request of Trump’s White House, the company confirmed on

OpenAI is delaying the public release of its next generation of AI models, GPT-5.6, at the request of Trump’s White House, the company confirmed on Friday. OpenAI said it would first share the models with a small set of customers, which will be preapproved by the US government. It will then work with the administration to slowly expand access. OpenAI is not happy about this, according to a person familiar with the company’s thinking, but believes the delay and government approval process is only temporary. In a blog post, the company said it hopes it will be able to make GPT-5.6 available to everyone in the coming weeks. OpenAI’s plans to delay its next generation of AI models at the Trump administration’s request was first reported by The Information. “We don’t believe this kind of government access process should become the long-term default,” OpenAI wrote in its blog post. “It keeps the best tools from users, developers, enterprises, cyber defenders, and global partners who need them.

We are taking this short-term step because we believe it is the strongest path to broader availability in the coming weeks, while we work with the Administration to develop the cyber Executive Order framework and a repeatable process for future model releases.” Got a Tip? Are you a current or former OpenAI or US government employee who wants to talk about what’s happening? We’d like to hear from you. Using a nonwork phone or computer, contact the reporter securely on Signal at mzeff.88. Earlier this month, President Trump signed an executive order that aimed to address the cybersecurity concerns of powerful new AI models. The order said the White House would create a “voluntary process” for AI labs to share their models with the government 30 days ahead of a broader release. The mandate included a carve-out, saying the US government would not turn its voluntary process into a de facto licensing regime for AI model releases. But in its Friday briefing, OpenAI executives said no such voluntary framework exists yet.

As a result, the frontier AI labs are in a very weird interim period, where working with the US government on your AI model launch doesn’t seem all that voluntary. The White House is asking OpenAI to stagger the release of its AI models just two weeks after it sent an export control directive to Anthropic, which prompted the company to take its most advanced AI models offline for all customers. Anthropic’s spat with the White House is still unresolved, and some of the company’s own employees are still barred from using its most advanced AI models. The Trump administration’s request for OpenAI and Anthropic to limit availability on their most advanced AI models creates an uncertain environment for other US AI labs. Over the last two years, the Trump administration has sought to clear regulation and red tape that could hinder America’s AI innovation and potentially hurt the country’s competitiveness with China. In recent months, however, the White House has grown increasingly concerned about the cybersecurity abilities of new AI models, and has scrambled to address the problem.