OpenAI Decisions API Enters Public Beta
OpenAI's Decisions API is now available in public beta. The endpoint is built for a narrower kind of AI task than a full conversational response: decide whether something is true, choose from predefined options or assign a score.
OpenAI says the Decisions API can return typed answers up to ten times faster than using GPT-6 Luna through the Responses API for these kinds of decisions. That makes it interesting for applications where the model is part of a real-time workflow rather than the final user-facing experience.
What the Decisions API returns
OpenAI describes three main output types: predicates, choices and scores. Predicates estimate the probability that a statement is true. Choices select among fixed options. Scores evaluate an input against a numeric range.
Because the possible output structure is defined in advance, the result can feed directly into application logic.
It accepts text and images
The API can use text and image inputs, which broadens the range of routing and classification problems it can handle.
Examples include content checks, choosing an action based on a screenshot, routing a request to the right model or evaluating an input against a rubric.
Speed is the main product advantage
OpenAI says the endpoint can make these decisions up to ten times faster than GPT-6 Luna through the Responses API.
For interactive systems, that difference matters because a decision often sits in the middle of a larger workflow. Slow routing can make the entire application feel delayed.
Structured decisions can simplify agent systems
Agents often need to decide what to do next: which tool to call, whether a condition has been met or which branch of a workflow to follow.
A specialized decision layer can make those transitions more explicit and easier to test than burying every decision inside a long free-form prompt.
Faster does not remove the need for evaluation
Developers still need to test thresholds, confidence scores, ambiguous inputs and the consequences of a wrong choice.
A fast classification system can make mistakes faster too, so high-impact decisions should have appropriate review or fallback logic.
Where it fits best
The Decisions API is most attractive when the answer belongs to a known set of possibilities. If the task requires open-ended reasoning, long-form synthesis or creative generation, a general response model is still the more natural tool.
The key is matching the API shape to the job rather than forcing every problem through the same endpoint.
Sources and further reading
Read the Decisions API announcement
Explore more articles on the Nejma Blog
GOT ANY QUESTIONS LEFT?
It is a specialized API for structured decisions such as predicates, choices and numeric scores.
Yes. OpenAI says the Decisions API accepts text and image inputs.
For narrow structured decisions, OpenAI says it can be significantly faster and easier to integrate directly into application logic.
