OpenAI's GPT-5.6 and ChatGPT Work aim to beat Anthropic on price, speed, and productivity

ChatGPT Work aim to beat Anthropic on price, speed, and productivity">

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OpenAI cranked out a series of big announcements today. They're news-making in their own right, but I have to be honest with you. These announcements also feel like they're OpenAI's way of playing catch-up with all the buzz Anthropic has been generating.

Key among the announcements are three new models: GPT-5.6 Sol, Terra, and Luna. We knew that 5.6 was on the way because the government stepped in last month to delay its release . This, of course, follows hot on the heels of the big news-dominating Anthropic/White House kerfuffle about Fable 5 and Mythos 5 .

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Also announced was ChatGPT Work, which is clearly OpenAI's answer to Claude Cowork . ChatGPT Work allows the AI to access your desktop and browser and perform tasks for you.

This is not a new OpenAI feature. Previously, it was embedded in the Codex app, OpenAI's agentic programming tool. Clearly, OpenAI took a branding page from Anthropic and separated the agentic work assistant from its agentic coding tool, which should make it more appealing to non-coders.

I have often criticized OpenAI for its startling absence of a good branding strategy, so this is actually a positive sign. Perhaps its programmers are no longer driving their product marketing strategy. Then again, perhaps ChatGPT 5.6 Sol is.

There's no doubt OpenAI has Anthropic in its sights. The company's announcement of the new models directly targets testing results and pricing levels of Anthropic's offerings. But first, let's do a quick rundown of those celestial model names.

Agents' Last Exam is a benchmark for testing how well AI models handle long-running, multi-step professional workflows across 55 fields. OpenAI says GPT-5.6 Sol scored 53.6 on Agents' Last Exam, beating Claude Fable 5 by 13.1 points.

Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index is another benchmark. It attempts to quantify broad model intelligence across several categories. OpenAI says Sol came within one point of Fable 5 while completing tasks in 61% less time.

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In yet another benchmark, OpenAI says GPT-5.6 Sol reached 80 on the Artificial Analysis Coding Agent Index, 2.8 points above Fable 5. Are you seeing a theme here?