OpenAI on Thursday released its most capable model, GPT-5.5, codenamed "Spud," just one week after competitor Anthropic launched its latest model .

Why it matters: AI releases are getting faster, more efficient and more powerful.

What they're saying: "This is a new class of intelligence. It's a big step towards more agentic and intuitive computing," OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman told reporters in a briefing.

GPT-5.5 is a "faster, sharper thinker for fewer tokens" compared to 5.4, he added, and can handle multi-step workflows more autonomously with less user input.

Despite the jump in capability, OpenAI says GPT-5.5 matches GPT-5.4's response speed in real-world use.

It's available starting Thursday in ChatGPT and Codex for paid subscribers, with API access coming soon once OpenAI finishes incorporating additional cybersecurity guardrails.

Zoom in: OpenAI says the model improvements are strongest in coding, computer use, general office work and early scientific research, areas that require reasoning…