Appendix · OpenAI
OpenAI Resources & Links
Official OpenAI links, the Academy course catalogue with times and pathways, what each source is authoritative for, a fact-freshness checklist, and a restatement of the claims this site does not make.
Always prefer the source over this site. Everything below points to official OpenAI properties; this preparation material is independent and unaffiliated, built from the publicly available learning objectives on those pages.
Official links
| Resource | URL |
|---|---|
| OpenAI Academy | https://academy.openai.com/ |
| Academy courses (assessments, badges, pathways) | https://help.openai.com/en/articles/20001270-openai-academy-courses |
| Certifications announcement | https://openai.com/index/openai-certificate-courses/ |
| OpenAI Certified app | https://help.openai.com/en/articles/20001151-openai-certified-app |
| API docs | https://developers.openai.com/api/docs |
| API models | https://developers.openai.com/api/docs/models |
| API pricing | https://developers.openai.com/api/docs/pricing |
| Codex docs | https://developers.openai.com/codex |
| Codex models | https://developers.openai.com/codex/models |
| Cookbook | https://developers.openai.com/cookbook |
For community discussion and service health, use the OpenAI developer community and status page linked from the API docs and the OpenAI site respectively. This page does not fabricate those URLs; follow them from the official properties above so you always land on the current address.
The Academy course catalogue
Fourteen courses across three pathways plus three standalone courses. Times are the published estimates and will drift — re-check them against the Academy courses help article.
| Category | Course | Est. time | Product | Pathway |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apply AI at work | AI Foundations | 60–75 min | ChatGPT | Foundations |
| Apply AI at work | Applied AI Foundations | 75–90 min | ChatGPT | Foundations |
| Apply AI at work | Agents and Workflows | 75–90 min | ChatGPT Work | Foundations |
| Build with AI | Scope AI Solutions | 30 min | OpenAI API | API |
| Build with AI | Evaluate AI Applications | 70 min | OpenAI API | API |
| Build with AI | Design and Build Agentic Systems | 110 min | OpenAI API | API |
| Build with AI | Build with Retrieval-Augmented Generation | 100 min | OpenAI API | API |
| Build with AI | Optimize AI Application Performance | 30 min | OpenAI API | API |
| Build with AI | Get Started with Codex | 80 min | Codex | Codex |
| Build with AI | Extend Codex Workflows | 90 min | Codex | Codex |
| Build with AI | Scale Codex Across Governed Teams and Systems | 100 min | Codex | Codex |
| Lead AI adoption | AI Leadership | 180 min | Strategy | Standalone |
| Teach and learn | AI for Educators | 45 min | ChatGPT | Standalone |
| Teach and learn | AI for College Students | 45 min | ChatGPT | Standalone |
Pathways: Foundations = AI Foundations + Applied AI Foundations + Agents and Workflows · API = the five Build-with-AI API courses · Codex = the three Codex courses. AI Leadership, AI for Educators and AI for College Students carry a badge but belong to no pathway. Every course and assessment in a pathway must be passed at ≥ 80% for the pathway certificate of completion. Separately, ChatGPT Foundations for Teachers is a K–12 educator course launched on Coursera, distinct from AI for Educators.
What each source is authoritative for
| Source | Authoritative for | Do not use it for |
|---|---|---|
| Academy courses help article | Assessment mechanics (10–20 items from a 50-item bank, 80% pass), badges, pathways, Gradual/Accredible support split | API model prices; Codex features |
| Certifications announcement | The certification initiative, pilot partners, the “badges are not certifications” wording, the 10-million-by-2030 goal | Exact assessment questions (there are none public) |
| OpenAI Certified app article | Who can access the app (Enterprise and Edu workspaces, invite-only), Coursera/Credly delivery | Academy pathway rules |
| API docs | The Responses API, agent runtimes, tools, safety, infra and ops | ChatGPT product plans |
| API models | Model IDs, context windows, reasoning efforts, cutoffs | Pricing (use the pricing page) |
| API pricing | Per-token input/output prices | Feature availability |
| Codex docs | Codex surfaces, configuration, permissions, administration | API-only features |
| Codex models | Which models run in Codex and their retirement dates | Pricing |
| Cookbook | Worked examples and patterns | Pricing or programme rules |
The single most important distinction to keep straight: the Academy pages govern free courses, badges and assessments; the certifications announcement and the OpenAI Certified app article govern the separate certification initiative. Conflating them is the error this whole section exists to prevent.
Fact-freshness checklist
Model names, prices, feature availability and course times drift. Before you rely on a specific fact, re-check the exact page that owns it:
- Model IDs and context windows — API models page. Confirm
gpt-6-astra,gpt-5.6-sol,gpt-5.6-terra,gpt-5.6-lunastill exist and their windows/cutoffs are current. - Prices — API pricing page. Prices are the fact most likely to have changed.
- Codex models and retirements — Codex models page. Retirement dates for ChatGPT-sign-in models (for example the 31 August 2026 retirement of
gpt-5.4/gpt-5.4-minifrom Codex) pass and change what is available. - Reasoning efforts and the Codex ladder — API models and Codex docs. Effort levels and the Low→Ultra ladder can shift with rollouts.
- Academy assessment rules — Academy courses help article. Confirm the 10–20 items, 50-item bank and 80% pass mark still hold.
- Course catalogue and times — Academy courses help article. Courses can be added, renamed or re-timed.
- Certification pilots and partners — certifications announcement. The pilot list and the OpenAI Certified access rules evolve.
- Enterprise controls and data residency — API docs (safety, infra and ops). Residency regions, ZDR availability and the Agents-harness constraints can change.
When a fact has moved, fix it in the project’s FACTS-OPENAI.md baseline first, then update the pages that cite it — do not patch a single page and leave the rest stale.
Claims we do not make
This section is preparation, not a shortcut, and it is precise about what it is:
- We do not call any of this an “official OpenAI certification”, “official exam questions”, an “official practice exam”, or an “OpenAI-approved course”.
- We do not guarantee a badge, a pathway certificate, or eligibility for any future OpenAI certification.
- We repeat OpenAI’s own wording: Academy badges and pathway certificates of completion are not certifications and do not guarantee eligibility for a future certification.
- Our mock exams are independent practice built from publicly available OpenAI learning objectives; the item counts, durations and readiness bands are our design choices, not published OpenAI parameters.
- Where we describe an “assessment” we mean the Academy’s own knowledge check; where we describe a “mock exam” we mean ours. There is no public OpenAI exam to have questions from, so be sceptical of anyone selling “official OpenAI exam questions”.
Last updated Sep 18, 2026