OpenAI starts a PR war! Showcases GPT-5.6 usage experience, gives out 100 USD in Codex points, with the target squarely aimed at Claude

The AI model battle has moved onto the X feed. OpenAI has put real money on the table: if you post on X and share what you like about GPT-5.6 Sol, or why you’ve “switched,” you’ll get $100 worth of Codex credits, and the first ten thousand participants can also get free usage. The event was launched by Tibo Sottiaux from the OpenAI Codex team directly on X, and the post he replied to—about “posting about Claude and getting a month free for canceling the screenshot”—makes clear who the target is, without needing to say it outright.
(Background: OpenAI rolled out Claude Code “relocation tool”—no more pretending, painless switching to Codex)
(Additional context: Anthropic itself sparked the Claude Code subscription-cancellation wave and put on a huge marketing show for OpenAI Codex)

Key takeaways

• OpenAI Codex team launched an event on 7/15: share your experience using GPT-5.6 Sol on X, or explain your switching reason, to get $100 in Codex credits
• Requires a valid ChatGPT Go/Plus/Pro subscription, redeemable within 24 hours after review; limited to the first ten thousand spots
• The event was initiated by Tibo Sottiaux and responds to a “post Claude cancellation screenshot to get free” suggestion—aimed squarely at Anthropic Claude Code

OpenAI moved the marketing battlefield to X. Tibo Sottiaux, a Codex team member, posted on July 15 to announce a promotion: if users publicly share on X what they like about GPT-5.6 Sol, or what they’ve used it for, OpenAI will give $100 in Codex credits; the first ten thousand eligible participants can also claim free usage. The post racked up 1.85 million views in a day.

Hello beautiful people! We have reset usage limits across Codex and ChatGPT Work. And another one will come later in the day. Rejoice.

Now that I have your attention, a quick update on ChatGPT Work, Codex and all the updates we shared yesterday.

We’ve spent the last 24 hours…

— Tibo (@thsottiaux) July 10, 2026

According to the official event page switch-to-codex.openai.chatgpt.site, the participation method is straightforward: post on X, explain what you like about GPT-5.6 or what you used it to do, then fill in your ChatGPT account email and the post link into the form. The prerequisite is that you have a valid ChatGPT Go, Plus, or Pro subscription—subscribing the same day also counts. After review, OpenAI will send an email within 24 hours with $100 in ChatGPT credits that can be redeemed; there are only ten thousand spots. One more reminder: the so-called “tokens” the event is giving away refers to ChatGPT compute usage quotas (tokens), not cryptocurrency.

The target is Claude

What’s most interesting about this campaign is the object it provokes. Tibo’s post is a reply to another developer, aman, whose original text said, “Codex should directly give one month free when you send over a screenshot showing the cancellation of Claude subscription.” OpenAI didn’t fully accept it, but the phrase “why you switch” already says it plainly: it wants those developers who were originally using Anthropic Claude and Claude Code.

Instead of just claiming how great their product is, why not spend money to hire ten thousand users to show up on X and speak for you in public? It’s a meticulously calculated growth campaign that turns users’ posts into ads, and each one is tied to a real account name—far more credible than official copy.

AI model wars are turning into a promotion war

This isn’t an isolated incident. Around the same time, OpenAI raised the usage limit for GPT-5.6 Sol, while on the other side Anthropic once again extended its promotional offering for Fable 5. Beyond model capabilities, both camps are focusing their fire on subscription pricing, usage quotas, and user word-of-mouth. The Codex vs Claude Code AI programming agent battle has long shifted from technical specs to wallets. Just a few days ago, the market was even saying Anthropic would debut Claude Opus 5 as soon as this week to take on GPT-5.6.

One post in exchange for $100, but the first ten thousand need to move fast. Yet for OpenAI, this budget—potentially topping one million dollars—buys not only usage redemptions, but also ten thousand public “open declarations” directed at Claude, each tied to a real user name.

FAQs

How do I join OpenAI’s GPT-5.6 Codex credits promotion?

On X, publicly post as a developer about what you like about GPT-5.6 Sol or what you used it for, then go to switch-to-codex.openai.chatgpt.site and enter your ChatGPT account email and the post link. You need a valid ChatGPT Go/Plus/Pro subscription; after review, you can redeem $100 credits within 24 hours, limited to the first ten thousand.

Are the “tokens” given in this event cryptocurrency?

No. The $100 being given away is ChatGPT/Codex usage credits, used to offset API or subscription usage, and it’s not related to cryptocurrency. The “tokens” mentioned in screenshot translations actually refers to tokens—the unit of model compute usage.