OpenAI researcher Kevin Liu published Research acceleration metrics: coding agents now reshape daily researcher work; median researcher spends >$600/day of inference at API prices, research-org P90 >$7,000/day; as of mid-August 2026 the org uses ~3.1 agent-workdays per human workday. OpenAI says it has met its automated research-intern goal and is progressing toward an automated AI researcher around March 2028.

Key Takeaways

  • βœ“Usage: median researcher >$600/day inference at API prices; research-org P90 >$7,000/day.
  • βœ“Throughput: ~3.1 agent-workdays per human workday as of mid-August 2026.
  • βœ“Milestone: automated research-intern goal met; OpenAI asks other labs to publish comparable metrics.
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