On February 5, 2026, Anthropic and OpenAI simultaneously launched their most advanced models — Claude Opus 4.6 and GPT-5.3 Codex. An open war for agentic AI supremacy, with major implications for all content creators and developers. Here's our complete analysis, enriched with exclusive visuals, a debate podcast, and a detailed presentation.
Video: exclusive trailer
Promotional video generated by Veo 3.1 - 8 cinematic seconds
The event: 15 minutes that changed AI
On Thursday, February 5, 2026, at 10:00 AM PST, what was supposed to be a coordinated reveal turned into a direct confrontation. Anthropic jumped the gun by 15 minutes, triggering an immediate reaction from OpenAI, which published GPT-5.3 Codex minutes later.
This timing was no accident. It signals a growing rivalry between AI labs fighting for developer mindshare in a market that could define the next decade of enterprise software.
Developers and companies face a relentless pace of innovation, where cutting-edge tools become obsolete in weeks.
Comparative infographic
Before diving into details, here's our complete infographic comparing both models:
Infographic: Claude Opus 4.6 vs GPT-5.3 Codex - All key figures
Claude Opus 4.6: Collaborative intelligence
Claude Opus 4.6 is presented as Anthropic's most intelligent model to date. It improves on its predecessor's coding skills (Opus 4.5), plans more carefully, maintains agentic tasks longer, and has better debugging capabilities.
The major innovation: "Agent Teams"
The most notable addition is the "Agent Teams" feature in Claude Code. Instead of a single agent working sequentially, users can now split work between multiple agents that coordinate directly with each other.
Technical capabilities:
- Context window: 1 million tokens (beta) - a first for the Opus class
- Adaptive thinking: decides when to use extended reasoning based on context
- Benchmarks: highest score on Terminal-Bench 2.0, outperforms GPT-5.2 by 144 Elo points on GDPval-AA
- Integrations: PowerPoint (AI sidebar), Excel (advanced financial analysis)
GPT-5.3 Codex: Recursive self-improvement
Launched minutes after Opus 4.6, GPT-5.3 Codex transforms Codex from a simple assistant into an agent capable of performing almost any task a developer can do on a computer.
The major innovation: self-creation
GPT-5.3 Codex is the first OpenAI model that was "instrumental in its own creation". The team used early versions of the model to debug its own training and diagnose test results, recursively accelerating its own development.
Technical capabilities:
- Speed: 25% faster than GPT-5.2
- Autonomous building: can create complex applications from scratch over multiple days
- Benchmarks: new record on SWE-Bench Pro, 64.7% on OSWorld-Verified (vs 38% for GPT-5.2)
- Cybersecurity: first model trained to identify software vulnerabilities
Comparison table
| Criteria | Claude Opus 4.6 | GPT-5.3 Codex |
|---|---|---|
| Publisher | Anthropic | OpenAI |
| Key innovation | Agent Teams (multi-agent) | Recursive self-improvement |
| Context | 1M tokens (beta) | Not disclosed |
| Speed | Not disclosed | +25% vs GPT-5.2 |
| Flagship benchmark | Terminal-Bench 2.0 #1 | SWE-Bench Pro #1 |
| Safety | Adaptive thinking | "High" cyber capability |
| Integrations | PowerPoint, Excel | Autonomous app building |
| Pricing | $5/$25 (input/output) | Not disclosed |
Debate podcast: Anthropic vs OpenAI, the agent war
For deeper analysis, listen to our AI-generated debate podcast that dives into the implications of this confrontation:
Podcast: "OpenAI vs Anthropic - The Agent War" (debate in French)
What this means for content creators
The "war" is now about models' ability to act as autonomous agents rather than simple text generators.
Anthropic bets on:
- Agent team coordination
- Massive context window for parallel complex tasks
OpenAI bets on:
- Execution speed (+25%)
- Recursive self-improvement
- Multi-day project management
Concrete impact for you
- Developers: Claude's "Agent Teams" let you delegate complex tasks to coordinated agent teams
- Content creators: Both models can now produce complete applications and multimedia content from A to Z
- Businesses: The choice between ecosystems becomes strategic - speed (OpenAI) vs collaboration (Anthropic)
Our verdict
Both models represent significant advances, but in different directions:
- Choose Claude Opus 4.6 if you need multi-agent coordination, massive context (1M tokens), and deep reasoning
- Choose GPT-5.3 Codex if you prioritize execution speed, autonomous app building, and cybersecurity capabilities
The 15-minute gap between launches illustrates the intensity of this competition. OpenAI and Anthropic are pushing agentic AI boundaries, transforming code suggestion into building entire applications.
Additional resources
- Explore sources in NotebookLM
- Official Claude Opus 4.6 announcement
- Official GPT-5.3 Codex announcement
FAQ
Which model is better for coding?
Both excel at agentic coding. Claude Opus 4.6 dominates Terminal-Bench 2.0, while GPT-5.3 Codex holds the record on SWE-Bench Pro. The choice depends on your workflow: multi-agents (Claude) or pure speed (OpenAI).
How much does Claude Opus 4.6 cost?
$5 per million input tokens and $25 per million output tokens, with a 1 million token context window in beta.
Can GPT-5.3 Codex really create itself?
It was used during its own training to debug and diagnose results. It's a form of recursive self-improvement, not complete autonomous creation.
Are these models available now?
Yes, both launched on February 5, 2026 and are available through their respective APIs and user interfaces.
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