OpenAI says GPT 5.6 is the ‘preferred model’ for Microsoft Copilot amid breakup chatter

In Brief

5:16 PM PDT · July 9, 2026

Earlier this week, Bloomberg reported that Microsoft was replacing some of OpenAI’s software with its own in-house models in an effort to cut costs. Those in-house models, known as MAI, were increasingly being used to power apps like Word and Excel, the outlet noted.

The story raised an increasingly common question about the two companies, which were once seemingly inseparable, and have recently sent mixed signals about the status of their situationship: Were the two companies drifting apart?

Now, OpenAI is attempting to put any insinuations of such a break to rest. During OpenAI’s launch of GPT 5.6 on Thursday, the company announced that it would become the “preferred model” powering Microsoft’s 365 Copilot.

OpenAI noted in a blog postpublished Thursday that GPT 5.6 would support Microsoft users across the company’s suite of productivity apps, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and...

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