Introducing gpt-realtime and Realtime API updates for production voice agents

Introducing gpt-realtime and Realtime API updates

OpenAI released the speech-to-speech model gpt-realtime and made the Realtime API generally available, adding remote MCP server support, image input, and SIP phone calling. The post reports 82.8% on Big Bench Audio versus 65.6% for the December 2024 model, and 30.5% on the audio MultiChallenge benchmark versus 20.6%. The key change is that tool access and phone connectivity now ship in the same production API.

Why it matters: This is a substantive OpenAI model + API release, not a minor refresh. HKR-H/K/R all pass: the release has a clear hook, hard benchmark deltas, and direct deployment impact for production voice agents, so it reaches p1.