GPT-6 Astra is OpenAI's computer-using flagship frontier model, released on September 3, 2026, built for professionals who need an AI assistant that can actually operate software rather than just chat about it. Unlike earlier ChatGPT models, Astra can drive desktop applications, write and refactor code, run cybersecurity reviews, and assemble documents, spreadsheets, and slide decks from a template or a plain instruction.
Core Features
- Computer use: Astra controls apps directly through the interface, handling multi-step tasks across browser, IDE, and office software without an API middleman.
- Software engineering: it writes, tests, and patches code, and can analyze suspicious activity and validate vulnerabilities for defensive security work.
- Long-horizon reasoning: a 1,050,000-token context window keeps large repositories and long research threads in memory across a session.
- Document and deck building: given a template, it produces formatted Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files ready to edit.
- Agent routing: it is available through the Vercel AI Gateway and OpenRouter for teams wiring long-running agent workflows.
Use Cases
- Engineering teams automating code review, legacy-code analysis, and patch preparation.
- Analysts who need a model to navigate forms, complete data-analysis jobs, and build reports.
- Security defenders using the subsidized Daybreak program for vulnerability validation.
Pricing
API access runs about $10 per million input tokens and $50 per million output tokens on OpenRouter, with 1,050K context. Requests above 272,000 input tokens are billed at 2x input and 1.5x output for the whole request. ChatGPT Plus and Pro subscribers reach Astra inside the app; enterprise terms come through OpenAI's sales team.
Our Take
Best for teams that want one model to both reason and click through real software. The trade-off is cost on very long contexts and the same agent-safety caveats OpenAI itself has flagged.
Explore more in our AI Chat tools and AI Engine/Model directories.
