OpenAI says it has spent recent months working with customers and partners to align safety policies across every service that provides its models, whether accessed directly, through hosting partners, or through resellers. The company describes a pre-deployment process that includes evaluating capabilities and risks, training models to follow safety requirements, and testing safeguards against deliberate attempts to bypass them. After deployment, it monitors for abuse, and trusted access programs add eligibility requirements for the most powerful capabilities.
To make enforcement more predictable, OpenAI is updating its Usage Policies effective November 20, 2026. The updated rules require services that provide direct access to its models, such as model routers or AI gateways, to obtain review and approval before offering that access. Partners must maintain safeguards consistent with OpenAI's own standards, investigate potential violations, and coordinate on enforcement so restrictions remain effective across services.
The company also introduced SafetyIDs, which customers can provide to help OpenAI distinguish between individual end users during an investigation without OpenAI learning those users' identities. That is intended to make enforcement more precise and reduce disruption to other users. OpenAI says enforcement decisions will be based on documented conduct and risk, applied consistently, and revisited if circumstances change.