Voice-agent developers get better tool calls, but audio tokens at $64 per million output are pricey, and a 2.1 update already exists.

Kenning's take

What it does

GPT-Realtime-2 is an OpenAI voice model for developers building live speech-to-speech agents, with adjustable reasoning and more reliable tool calls. It is used through the Realtime API. OpenAI released GPT-Realtime-2.1 as an update in July 2026.

  • Speech-to-speech conversations
  • Configurable reasoning effort
  • Tool calling in live calls
  • Text, audio and image input
  • 128K-token context window

Who it suits. Developers building phone or app voice agents.

Key facts

Category
AI models
Made by
OpenAI
Based in
United States
Released
7 May 2026
How to get it
OpenAI Realtime API (model gpt-realtime-2)
Works on
API
In the UK
Yes
API price
Text $4 per million input tokens and $24 output; audio $32 per million input tokens and $64 output

FAQ

When was GPT-Realtime-2 released?

OpenAI released it in the API on 7 May 2026.

Is there a newer version?

Yes, GPT-Realtime-2.1 was released on 6 July 2026.

Facts from the maker's own pages and the sources listed. Checked 2026-10-11.