Can I use the OpenAI Realtime API in production right now?
Teams already using OpenAI Realtime need to know what breaks when the beta interface is removed on May 7, 2026, and whether to migrate now to the GA Realtime API or re-architect around another realtime stack before production traffic is affected.
Yes, but start on GA — the beta interface and preview model are removed May 7, 2026.
Blockers
- package/openai-realtime-beta — EOL 2026-05-07, successor: package/openai-realtime-ga
- package/gpt-4o-realtime-preview — EOL 2026-05-07, successor: package/gpt-realtime-1.5
- event renamed: response.text.delta → response.output_text.delta
- event renamed: conversation.item.created → conversation.item.added + conversation.item.done
- ephemeral key generation moved to POST /v1/realtime/client_secrets
- new content types: output_text and output_audio replace legacy types
Who this is for
- real-time
- low-ops
- enterprise
- small-team
- compliance
- cost-sensitive
- high-scale
Source-linked facts
Facts updated: 2026-03-15
Published: 2026-03-27
Try with PocketLantern
$ npm install -g pocketlantern # Then ask: $ pocketlantern "Migrate OpenAI Realtime API Beta to GA Before May 7, 2026"
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