Sora

5:52 Sora is gone: OpenAI announced on Mar 24, 2026 that it was discontinuing Sora, closed the Sora app and website on Apr 26, 2026, and removed the Videos API and every Sora 2 model from its API on Sep 24, 2026, with no replacement listed. As of Nov 6, 2026 there is no way to get Sora: no invite, no plan and no API. The Sora app had launched with the Sora 2 model on Sep 30, 2025, as an invite-only social video app built around "cameos" of real people.

If you came here looking for an AI video generator, the closest replacements are Google's Veo and its newer Gemini Omni model (in Gemini and Google Flow), Kuaishou's Kling and ByteDance's Seedance; Best AI Video Generator compares them. OpenAI's image generator inside ChatGPT stays available.

Learn more: Sora on chatgpt.vi.ki

Quick facts

What happened to Sora?

OpenAI said it was ending Sora in the consumer app and the API (CBS News, Mar 24, 2026). Its stated reason was compute: it would put its computing power where demand was growing, and the Sora research team would turn to world simulation research for robotics. The Information reported that Sam Altman told staff the cut would free resources for OpenAI's next models (MacRumors). The shutdown came in two stages: the app and the sora.chatgpt.com website closed on Apr 26, 2026, and developers kept the API until Sep 24, 2026 (The Decoder, Mar 28, 2026). OpenAI asked users to download their videos from the Sora library before those dates and said their data would then be deleted.

Interest had already been falling. Engadget, citing Appfigures, reported that new Sora downloads fell 32% from November to December 2025, with installs and spending declining month over month in early 2026.

The Sora app and cameos

8:38 The Sora app was a feed of short AI videos, closer to a social network than a film tool. Its signature feature was the cameo: you recorded a short clip of yourself once, and Sora 2 could then put your face and voice into generated scenes (MacRumors, Sep 30, 2025). You chose who could use your cameo and could see every video, drafts included, that used your likeness. Sora 2 generated sound with the video (speech, ambience and effects), and ChatGPT Pro subscribers got a higher-quality Sora 2 Pro model on the website. At launch Sora 2 was free to use.

The app passed one million downloads about a week and a half after launch, faster than ChatGPT did, and briefly topped the App Store's free charts (MacRumors, Mar 24, 2026).

Controversies

Realistic videos of real people drew criticism from the start. OpenAI faced complaints over deepfakes of living and dead celebrities and then stopped allowing celebrity likenesses or voices without their consent (MacRumors). CBS News lists a 2025 dispute over videos depicting Martin Luther King Jr., copyright questions around characters such as Ronald McDonald, and wider worries about AI "slop" and deceptive videos (CBS News).

Disney announced a licensing deal with OpenAI in December 2025 that let Sora users make videos with hundreds of Disney, Marvel, Pixar and Star Wars characters (CBS News). When Sora closed, The Hollywood Reporter reported that Disney was leaving the deal and would not make its planned $1 billion investment (Engadget).

How did Sora 2 rank?

Sora 2 Pro still sits 13th on Arena's text-to-video leaderboard with a score of 1367, and Sora 2 is 19th at 1343, behind newer models such as Gemini Omni 1.2 Flash (1st, 1541), Seedance 2.0 (6th) and Wan 3.0 (8th) (Arena, updated Nov 5, 2026, read Nov 6, 2026). Those are scores from votes collected while Sora was available; the models cannot be used now.

What to use instead of Sora

• Gemini Omni and Veo: Google's Gemini Omni 1.2 Flash leads Arena's text-to-video board as of Nov 6, 2026 and makes video with sound in Gemini and Google Flow, where everyone gets 50 free credits a day (Google Flow Help). Pick it for the best measured quality and a free daily allowance.
• Kling: Kuaishou's Kling 4.0, launched Oct 15, 2026, makes clips of up to 30 seconds in one pass (Bernama, Oct 19, 2026). Pick it for long single shots.
• Seedance: ByteDance's Seedance 2.0 and 2.5 rank 6th and 7th on Arena; Seedance is also built into Runway, Luma, Pika and HeyGen.
• Hailuo: MiniMax's H3 makes 15-second clips with stereo sound and has open weights.
• For a cameo-like video of yourself talking, avatar tools such as HeyGen and Synthesia are built for exactly that.

Frequently asked questions

Is Sora still available? No. OpenAI closed the Sora app and website on Apr 26, 2026 and removed Sora 2 from its API on Sep 24, 2026, so Sora cannot be used anywhere as of Nov 6, 2026.

Why did OpenAI shut down Sora? OpenAI said it wanted to spend its computing power on products with growing demand, and moved the Sora research team to world simulation for robotics. Reports also pointed to falling downloads after the first months.

Can I still download my Sora videos? OpenAI told users to download their videos from the Sora library before the shutdown dates and said data would be deleted after them; it had not committed to a later export window as of Mar 28, 2026.

Does ChatGPT make videos now that Sora is gone? OpenAI's shutdown covered the Sora app and the Sora API; CBS News reported that ChatGPT's image generator stays. For video, use a rival such as Gemini Omni, Kling or Seedance.

What was a Sora cameo? A cameo was a short recording of your face and voice that let Sora 2 put you into AI videos, with controls over who else could use it.

What is the best Sora alternative? As of Nov 6, 2026, Google's Gemini Omni 1.2 Flash ranks first on Arena's text-to-video leaderboard; Kling 4.0 makes the longest single clips. See Best AI Video Generator.

Sources

• Deprecations, OpenAI, read Nov 6, 2026
• OpenAI pulls the plug on its Sora AI video app, CBS News, Mar 24, 2026
• OpenAI Discontinuing Sora AI Video App, MacRumors, Mar 24, 2026
• OpenAI is shutting down its Sora video generation app, Engadget, Mar 24, 2026
• OpenAI sets two-stage Sora shutdown, The Decoder, Mar 28, 2026
• OpenAI's Sora App Creates Realistic AI Videos of You and Your Friends, MacRumors, Sep 30, 2025
• Text-to-video leaderboard, Arena, read Nov 6, 2026
• Manage your Google Flow credits, Google Flow Help, read Nov 6, 2026
• Kling AI Officially Launches Next-Generation Kling 4.0, Bernama, Oct 19, 2026
• Introducing Sora 2, OpenAI, Sep 30, 2025 (video)