OpenAI's new 'Garlic' AI model aims to outsmart Google's Gemini 3
OpenAI is cooking up a fresh AI model called Garlic, designed to take on Google's Gemini 3 and Anthropic's Opus 4.5.
Early tests show Garlic is especially strong at reasoning and coding, and it could launch as GPT-5.2 or GPT-5.5 by early 2026.
This move is part of OpenAI's push to get back on top in the fast-moving AI race.
What makes garlic different?
Built on their earlier Shallotpeat model, Garlic uses more efficient pretraining methods for better results with less computing power.
Mark Chen, OpenAI's Chief Research Officer, says Garlic has shown strong performance while being more efficient.
It's already set new records in internal tests and fixed issues that held back previous models like GPT-4.5.
Before its expected release in early 2026, Garlic will go through extra safety checks.