OpenAI launches decisions API for real-time AI decision-making

On September 30, 2026, OpenAI unveiled the Decisions API during its annual developer event. This new API is designed for real-time, low-latency classification and routing scenarios, delivering results in approximately 150 milliseconds—about 10 times faster than using the standard Luna API. The API focuses on 'quick single decisions,' channeling the model's intelligence into predefined user questions and limited answer sets. It returns structured decision results with minimal delay. The API enables developers to input context, such as text or images, along with predefined questions and optional answers. It then provides selected answers and confidence levels for further business logic. Use cases include content moderation, strategy selection, and agent workflow orchestration. Decisions API can assist in real-time rule-based decisions, offering suggestions within a limited set of options before final approval by existing rule engines.