Thought Leadership
OpenAI is now also rolling out its new flagship model GPT-6 Astra to users with the 20 US dollar ChatGPT Plus subscription.
The rollout is taking place gradually, with Astra initially appearing in individual accounts within the ChatGPT Work workspace before becoming discoverable in the regular chat model selection. OpenAI had previously confirmed that it would gradually roll out the model to Plus users as well.
“It could take a few days to roll out to our Plus and Business users.”
OpenAI
According to OpenAI’s own statements, Astra usage is fully included in the existing subscription, so Plus users do not need to purchase a separate plan; if needed, however, additional usage quotas can be purchased in the form of credits.
Astra is considered OpenAI’s new flagship model and is specifically designed for computer use, web browsing, coding tasks, scientific applications, cybersecurity, as well as longer professional tasks. According to OpenAI, it also significantly surpasses the previous model GPT-5.6 Sol in reliably maintaining context even during more complex workflows. Pro, Business, and Enterprise customers additionally receive access to the more powerful variant Astra Pro with higher usage limits, which remains unavailable to Plus plan users. Whether and to what extent the model will be available to free users in the future has been left open by OpenAI for now; currently, users of the free version continue to have access only to the models GPT-5.6 Sol and GPT-5.
Astra: Already classified as the first model with a critical cyber capability level
The broader rollout follows shortly after OpenAI’s own classification, according to which Astra is the first in-house model to reach the highest level, designated as “critical,” of its internal Preparedness Framework for cybersecurity, including through the autonomous discovery of previously unknown security vulnerabilities during internal testing. The model is also being made available gradually via the OpenAI API, Microsoft Azure, and AWS Bedrock, though enterprise administrators must specifically enable the use of Astra for their own workspace, as access is disabled by default at launch.
(Editorial Team)
