OpenAI said Tuesday that it is discontinuing its Sora AI video app.

The move comes as the video platform wanes in popularity among users, according to the Wall Street Journal, which first reported OpenAI’s decision to pull the plug. 

“We’ve decided to discontinue Sora in the consumer app and API. As we focus and compute demand grows, the Sora research team continues to focus on world simulation research to advance robotics that will help people solve real-world, physical tasks,” an OpenAI spokesperson said in a statement to CBS News. 

In a social media post, OpenAI also expressed thanks to Sora users, saying that “we know this news is disappointing.”

AI video apps have wowed tech fans for their ability to almost instantly generate videos, while drawing criticism for making it harder to distinguish real from fake images. 

Stop the slop 

The torrent of AI-created videos from Sora and other developers heightened concerns about the proliferation of AI “slop” — low-quality or deliberately deceptive videos that critics say are swamping the internet. 

OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, launched Sora in February 2024, sparking vigorous discussion about the future of content creation, filmmaking and media in the age of artificial intelligence. 

In September 2025, OpenAI released a more powerful version of the tool, Sora 2, with one feature enabling users to create “cameos” of themselves, friends and others. The app quickly jumped to the top of Apple’s app store.

Yet Sora also generated its fair share of debate. In 2025, the app courted controversy when some users produced what the company characterized as “disrespectful depictions” of Martin Luther King Jr., prompting it to temporarily block app users from making videos using the civil rights activist’s likeness. 

Sora also raised copyright concerns after users started making videos with popular characters like Ronald McDonald.

In December of last year, Disney announced that it reached a licensing deal with OpenAI to allow users to create videos with hundreds of characters from Disney, Marvel, Pixar and Star Wars.

“We appreciate the constructive collaboration between our teams and what we learned from it, and we will continue to engage with AI platforms to find new ways to meet fans where they are while responsibly embracing new technologies that respect IP and the rights of creators,” a Disney spokesperson said in a statement on Tuesday.

Although OpenAI is scrapping Sora, the company said ChatGPT’s AI image generator will remain intact.

“Every day we’re making tradeoffs in how we apply compute across research, product launches and inference, and we’re prioritizing the highest-value uses that best advance our mission,” OpenAI said in its statement to CBS News.