Sora's discontinuation: dates, exports and a continuity checklist

OpenAI's discontinuation notice says the Sora web and app experiences ended on 26 April 2026 and the Sora API will be discontinued on 24 September 2026.2 The notice distinguishes the ended web and app experiences from the scheduled API shutdown.

We recommend checking which part of Sora your workflow uses before planning another production run. Secure permitted exports and prepare an alternative. This correction does not infer why OpenAI made the decision or claim that AI video as a whole has failed.

What the official notice says about your content

OpenAI directs users to the Sora sunset page to request an export and says they will receive an email when it is ready. It recommends exporting content as soon as possible.2

The notice says data associated with Sora use will be permanently deleted after discontinuation and any final export window, if one can be offered. It does not promise an indefinite recovery window. Recheck the notice and your account communications before relying on access.2

These are the service provider's instructions, not evidence that Amulet has accessed, exported or recovered anyone's Sora content.

Record what the workflow needs

For each affected workflow, we recommend recording:

• The product surface used: web, app or API, with the relevant official date.
• The person responsible for the account and authorised to request an export.
• The materials needed to continue: permitted source files, prompts, outputs, project context and review records.
• Where approved exports will be stored, who may access them and how you will check they open correctly.
• Any scheduled job or downstream system that needs to stop or change, with its owner.
• A manual, non-AI or separately approved alternative, including what quality or turnaround differences are acceptable.

Choose a replacement by the job

Illustrative example: a team uses generated clips in a draft storyboard. Its fallback might be still images or a conventional storyboard while it evaluates another tool. A person checks the creative brief, usage rights and final output before publication. That is a proposed continuity choice, not a recommendation of an untested video product.

If an API workflow is affected, identify the calls, failure behaviour and downstream commitments before switching it. A different model or vendor can require a new evaluation and a new data-handling decision. A configuration change alone does not establish that the old acceptance evidence still applies.

What the retirement does not establish

The captured notice gives discontinuation and export information. It does not substantiate the earlier claims about weak demand, the entire video market, or compute being redirected into agents. Those explanations are removed rather than presented as facts.

The original URL and publication date remain for this corrected, dated account. Before using the scheduled API date operationally, check the current official notice; this article is not an uptime or recovery guarantee.

For help mapping a business workflow's dependencies, discuss the scope with Amulet. A continuity plan may need no new AI purchase.

Sources

[2] https://help.openai.com/en/articles/20001152-what-to-know-about-the-sora-discontinuation — What to know about the Sora discontinuation | OpenAI Help Center