OpenAI's help center documents a short lifecycle for Sora

The shot

OpenAI's help center publishes a standing notice, "What to know about the Sora discontinuation," stating that "the Sora web and app experiences were discontinued on April 26, 2026," with "the Sora API" scheduled for discontinuation "on September 24, 2026." This is a living support document rather than a single dated announcement; the description here reflects the article as retrieved on 16 September 2026, eight days before the stated API cutoff. The note documents the end of the product line launched as Sora Turbo in December 2024 and extended by Sora 2's app in September 2025.

What the documents show

The help article states plainly what happens to a user's content: "you can export your data," with OpenAI committing to notify users by email if "a final export window is offered." After that window closes, the article states OpenAI "will permanently delete any data associated with your use of Sora." Export runs through a specific in-product path, "going to sora.chatgpt.com/sunset and clicking on Export," after which a user receives an email when the file is ready. This is OpenAI's own operational account, not a third-party report; the dates and deletion policy are documented facts about the stated plan, though a living document can be revised before the API date arrives. Corroborating this, the Sora 2 announcement now carries a banner stating "as of April 26, 2026, the Sora product is no longer available," matching the help article's date.

The workflow

For anyone who generated video through Sora, the documented steps are: locate the export tool at the sunset URL, request an export, wait for a confirmation email, and download the files before any final window closes. The article separates access from billing, noting refund questions route to a separate ChatGPT refund article, and that "any purchased ChatGPT/Sora credits can still be used for Codex," OpenAI's coding product, rather than being forfeited. Anyone with API integrations has a stated deadline, 24 September 2026, to migrate before the endpoint stops responding.

What the tool does not change

The notice does not explain why OpenAI is discontinuing the product; it documents timeline and data handling only, and this note does not speculate about the reasoning behind it. Nor does the article describe what, if anything, replaces Sora's functionality in OpenAI's product line. Anyone relying on generated video for an active production still carries the same responsibility to preserve their own archive before deletion, since the retention commitment ends at the close of any offered export window.

• Has the export window referenced in this notice already opened for a given account, and has the file been retrieved?
• Does a production's API-based workflow have a migration plan before the 24 September 2026 cutoff this document states?
• Since this is a living document, has its wording changed since 16 September 2026, and does an updated version alter the export or deletion timeline?

Read with the original launch and Sora 2 materials, this notice documents a generative video product's short lifecycle: roughly sixteen months from Sora Turbo's public release to the discontinuation of the web and app experiences it introduced.