GPT-5.5 is due to leave ChatGPT, ChatGPT Work and Codex on October 14, 2026, across all plans. People still selecting it through a ChatGPT subscription need to check their replacement and saved tasks. The OpenAI API is excluded from OpenAI’s September 14 retirement notice.
This is an approaching deadline, not a new announcement. The notice does not specify a cutoff hour or timezone, or promise a universal automatic fallback. Complete the checks before October 14 rather than relying on a last-minute switch.
1. Identify what runs your work
Start with the product and how you sign in. OpenAI’s authentication guide distinguishes subscription-backed Codex from local Codex using an API key. API-key use follows separate API billing and data settings; it is not a free extension of your subscription. Hosted Codex requires ChatGPT sign-in.
A script is not necessarily an API workload. OpenAI says codex exec normally reuses saved CLI authentication. The practical implication: check the sign-in method of recurring coding jobs, not just their model name.
2. Choose a replacement you can actually access
The current retirement-specific guidance gives these choices for Codex users signed in with ChatGPT:
Your ChatGPT plan | Documented replacement | Access qualification |
|---|---|---|
Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise or Edu | GPT-6 Sol (gpt-6-sol) | Use it when available to your account and client. |
Free or Go | GPT-6 Luna (gpt-6-luna) | Use it in the desktop app when available. |
The models page separately recommends GPT-6.1 Sol for complex coding when available. That is a different recommendation from the retirement checklist’s GPT-6 Sol target; the names are not interchangeable.
For ChatGPT itself, use the available Chat model controls. Do not assume a Codex model identifier is also a Chat setting. For workplace Work and Codex, OpenAI’s administrator guidance points to GPT-6 Sol once enabled. A changed default does not grant access: confirm each affected person can use the replacement in the relevant app. Hosted Codex does not support changing its default model.
3. Check saved choices, not only the current chat
OpenAI’s retirement checklist covers workspace defaults, saved settings, managed configurations, custom agents, scheduled tasks and scripts with explicit model selections. Work through the parts you actually use:
Recurring tasks: open Scheduled and inspect each task’s model choice, including infrequent tasks whose next run is after October 14. Tasks can keep an explicit model and reasoning setting.
Coding setups: check command-line model flags, trusted project settings and selected profiles as well as personal defaults. These can take precedence over a changed default under Codex’s configuration rules.
Managed computers: ask the administrator to check persistent startup settings. Legacy managed defaults return when the client restarts, even if you changed the selection during a session.
Leave unrelated settings and historical records alone. This notice does not require a model change in an unaffected GPT-5.5 API application.
4. Check the result before depending on it
A useful migration check is a familiar task with a known expected result, run without sending or publishing anything. Confirm both the selected model and whether the output does the required work. On a managed local client, check again after restarting so a temporary choice does not hide an old startup default.
OpenAI recommends testing scheduled work and reviewing its early outputs. Keep existing file, network and approval controls in place. A successful response is not proof that a replacement will behave identically on every task.
Keep billing and the API separate
Work and Codex share usage, credits and limits. Product credit rates do not by themselves determine how many tasks your included allowance will cover. Use your account’s usage information and billing agreement; an API dollar price is not a subscription allowance.
The API exception belongs to this retirement notice. It is not a promise of indefinite GPT-5.5 API availability. API users should follow their own model lifecycle notices, without treating this subscription deadline as an instruction to migrate.
RohitAI’s September 15 retirement guide describes the earlier migration advice. The replacement choices above reflect OpenAI’s current documentation, rather than the older GPT-5.6 Sol recommendation in that guide.
For context on the separate Chat interface rollout, see RohitAI’s GPT-6 Intelligent UI coverage.
Methodology: Prepared with AI assistance from OpenAI’s published documentation, rechecked on October 12, 2026. The practical checks are recommendations, not hands-on test results. Account-specific access and replacement behavior were not tested.