GPT-5.3 Codenamed Garlic Spotted in Live A/B Tests as Thursday Launch Rumors Swirl

The AI community is buzzing with excitement as GPT-5.3, OpenAI latest model codenamed Garlic, has been spotted in live A/B tests. Users reported seeing the prompt giving feedback on a new version of ChatGPT in their apps, suggesting OpenAI is actively testing the new model in the wild. AI engineer Dan McAteer revealed that insiders claim the model features stronger pre-training capabilities, described as the big model smell by those in the know, along with IMO Gold-level mathematical reasoning. The rumored launch date is this Thursday, February 26, 2026, which would mark the biggest AI upgrade since GPT-4 debut.