Microsoft Integrates OpenAI’s Compact AI Model Into Windows 11

Microsoft has introduced OpenAI’s new, free, and open GPT model, gpt-oss-20b, to Windows 11 users via its Windows AI Foundry platform. This move allows developers and users to tap into advanced AI features and open-source models directly on their computers, without needing to rely on the cloud or proprietary APIs. The gpt-oss-20b model stands out for its ability to handle agentic tasks such as code execution and tool usage, making it ideal for building autonomous assistants or integrating AI into complex workflows. It operates efficiently on most consumer-grade PCs and laptops equipped with at least 16GB of VRAM, a requirement typically met by modern Nvidia or Radeon GPUs. Trained through high-compute reinforcement learning, this text-only model excels at reasoning steps and calling external tools, such as executing Python code and performing web searches. Microsoft has stated that broader hardware support is planned in the future and that MacOS compatibility is also in development Unlike other AI models that can process images or audio, gpt-oss-20b is focused purely on text. Though it offers powerful local capabilities, users should remain aware of its current limitations, such as a relatively high hallucination rate in certain benchmarks. This latest integration reflects a shift towards more decentralized, local AI computing, potentially lowering costs and enhancing privacy for users and enterprises. The model is also available on Microsoft’s Azure AI Foundry and Amazon AWS for those who prefer cloud-based deployment

Source: TechCrunch reports that Microsoft is bringing OpenAI’s smallest open-weight GPT model to Windows 11, enabling efficient on-device AI tasks for PCs with sufficient VRAM.