# OpenAI GPT-3.5 Turbo Instruct — deprecation status

> Yes — OpenAI deprecated GPT-3.5 Turbo Instruct on September 26, 2025 and shuts it down on September 28, 2026 (in 60 days). The recommended replacement is GPT-5.4 mini.

The last completions-endpoint model OpenAI shipped, kept alive years past the rest of the /v1/completions family because logprobs and raw continuation behaviour had no equivalent in chat. Its September 2026 shutdown closes out the completions era entirely.

## Facts

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Provider | OpenAI |
| Model id | `gpt-3.5-turbo-instruct` |
| Status | Deprecated |
| Released | September 18, 2023 |
| Deprecated | September 26, 2025 |
| Shutdown | September 28, 2026 (in 60 days) |
| Last verified | July 30, 2026 |

## Replacement

- **GPT-5.4 mini** (`gpt-5.4-mini`) · recommended — https://modeldeprecations.dev/openai/gpt-5.4-mini
  - This is an endpoint change, not just an id change: /v1/completions gives way to chat completions, prompts become messages, and raw continuation behaviour has no direct equivalent.
  - Parameters it accepts: https://modelparams.dev/models/openai/gpt-5.4-mini

```diff
- "model": "gpt-3.5-turbo-instruct"
+ "model": "gpt-5.4-mini"
```

## FAQ

### When will OpenAI GPT-3.5 Turbo Instruct shut down?

OpenAI GPT-3.5 Turbo Instruct is scheduled to shut down on September 28, 2026, in 60 days.

### What replaces OpenAI GPT-3.5 Turbo Instruct?

OpenAI recommends GPT-5.4 mini (`gpt-5.4-mini`) as the replacement for OpenAI GPT-3.5 Turbo Instruct. This is an endpoint change, not just an id change: /v1/completions gives way to chat completions, prompts become messages, and raw continuation behaviour has no direct equivalent.

### Is OpenAI GPT-3.5 Turbo Instruct still available?

Yes, for now. OpenAI GPT-3.5 Turbo Instruct is deprecated but still answers requests until September 28, 2026. Deprecated models get no further updates and are the first to lose capacity.

### How do I migrate from OpenAI GPT-3.5 Turbo Instruct to gpt-5.4-mini?

Swap the model id in your API call: replace "gpt-3.5-turbo-instruct" with "gpt-5.4-mini". This is an endpoint change, not just an id change: /v1/completions gives way to chat completions, prompts become messages, and raw continuation behaviour has no direct equivalent.

## Sources

- [OpenAI API deprecations](https://developers.openai.com/api/docs/deprecations) — accessed 2026-07-30

---

Canonical page: https://modeldeprecations.dev/openai/gpt-3.5-turbo-instruct
JSON: https://modeldeprecations.dev/api/v1/models/openai/gpt-3.5-turbo-instruct.json