Is Sora AI Shut Down? Key Dates and What Happens Next

Yes, Sora is shut down as a consumer product. OpenAI discontinued the Sora web and app experiences on April 26, 2026, and the remaining piece, the Sora API, runs until September 24, 2026. Sora was OpenAI's text-to-video generator, launched in its second version alongside a social app on September 30, 2025, so the consumer product lived for less than seven months. This article collects the confirmed dates, the export steps, and what the shutdown means if your team relies on AI tools.

Is Sora AI shut down?

Yes. OpenAI discontinued the Sora web and app experiences on April 26, 2026, and the Sora API will be discontinued on September 24, 2026, according to OpenAI's Sora discontinuation notice. The notice does not say why OpenAI made the decision. Any explanation you read elsewhere is interpretation, not company policy.

Can I still use Sora?

Not as a standalone product. The Sora website and mobile apps no longer work. The only exception is the Sora API, which OpenAI keeps running until September 24, 2026; after that date, the notice lists no way to use Sora at all.

The shutdown came fast. Sora 2 and the Sora app launched on September 30, 2025, with an invite-only iOS release in the US and Canada, as TechCrunch reported at the time. From that launch to the April 26 shutdown is under seven months.

Key Sora shutdown dates

| Date | What happens |

| --- | --- |

| April 26, 2026 | Sora web and app experiences were discontinued |

| September 24, 2026 | Sora API will be discontinued |

What happens to my Sora data?

OpenAI says it will permanently delete any data associated with your use of Sora once the discontinuation is complete and any final export window has passed. That makes exporting your content the one step that matters.

How to export, per OpenAI's notice:

1. Go to sora.chatgpt.com/sunset and click Export.

2. Wait for the email telling you the export is ready.

If OpenAI offers a final export window, it says it will notify users by email before it begins. Do not wait for that window. The notice recommends exporting as soon as possible, and the deletion policy above is the reason.

Will Sora come back?

OpenAI has not said. The discontinuation notice covers only the shutdown dates and the export process; it announces no successor product and no return date. Treat any "Sora is coming back" claim as speculation unless OpenAI publishes it.

What this means for AI teams

The Sora shutdown is a reminder that AI products and APIs can change quickly: in this case, from a high-profile launch to a discontinued product in under seven months. Teams that depend on AI tools should track product deadlines, export important data early, and avoid building critical workflows around a single vendor interface without a fallback plan.

Three habits make that concrete:

1. Follow the deprecation and help-center pages of every AI vendor you depend on, not just their launch announcements.

2. Keep exports current for anything you would miss, since notice periods can be short and deletion policies are real.

3. Put your own layer between your workflow and any single vendor's API, so swapping providers is a configuration change rather than a rebuild.

If you want the bigger picture on where AI products are heading, from standalone generators to agents that take actions on your behalf, see our breakdown of agentic AI vs generative AI.

Sources

• OpenAI Help Center: What to know about the Sora discontinuation: shutdown dates, export steps, and the data-deletion policy.

• TechCrunch: OpenAI is launching the Sora app alongside the Sora 2 model (September 30, 2025): the launch date and launch details used for the timeline.