GPT-5.6 Traffic Surge Pushes OpenAI to Reset ChatGPT Usage Limits
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OpenAI says the GPT-5.6 launch caused an unprecedented increase in traffic, with usage reaching roughly twice the company’s previous peak.
The model was also quickly introduced to Microsoft 365 Copilot, adding further demand shortly after its release.
The traffic surge affected ChatGPT Work and Codex users over the weekend. OpenAI responded by repeatedly resetting usage limits for affected accounts.
OpenAI temporarily removes five-hour usage limit
OpenAI has temporarily removed the five-hour usage-limit restriction for ChatGPT Plus, Business, and Pro subscribers.
The company has not confirmed how long the temporary change will remain in place or when the restriction may return.
ChatGPT Work and Codex accounts also received several usage-limit resets as OpenAI worked to manage the unusually high demand.
GPT-5.6 Sol users get more usage
OpenAI has introduced new inference optimizations for GPT-5.6 Sol that make the model more efficient to operate.
The company says it will pass those efficiency savings on to subscribers. Users should receive approximately 10% more usage following the change.
The additional capacity should help reduce the impact of usage limits for people running complex or long-running tasks with the model.
Banked resets expand to web and mobile
OpenAI is also expanding its banked reset feature, which allows users to save a usage-limit reset and activate it later.
The feature initially launched through the desktop app. It can now also be accessed through ChatGPT on the web and mobile apps.
OpenAI added a reset to around 500,000 ChatGPT Work and Codex accounts. The company also fixed a bug that prevented some resets from applying correctly.
Anthropic extends Claude Fable 5 promotion
Anthropic has extended its Claude Fable 5 promotion by one week.
The offer was originally scheduled to end on July 12, but Fable 5 will now remain available across all paid Claude plans through July 19.
Claude Code users will also continue receiving 50% higher weekly usage limits during the extended promotional period.
Via Neowin
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