--- {"title": "How to check release dates before publishing for tech journalists", "description": "Learn how tech journalists can check AI model release dates before publishing, compare sources, and confirm each date against official posts.", "url": "https://supakeeper.com/how-to-check-release-dates-before-publishing-for-ai-journalists/", "date": "2026-10-22"} --- Learn how tech journalists can check AI model release dates before publishing, compare sources, and confirm each date against official posts. To check a release date before publishing, list the model families your story covers, look for the company's own dated post, and treat any estimated timing as an estimate rather than a fixed date. | Option | What it does | What to check | |---|---|---| | Model Odds | Ranks every Anthropic and OpenAI model family by its estimated chance of a release within 30 days. [^1] | Check which companies the ranking covers, and treat each figure as an estimate. | | Company announcements | Posts from the company about a model. | Check that the post is on the company's own channel and carries a date. | | Independent release timelines | A dated record of launches kept outside the company. | Check whether the timeline names the same model and date as the official post. | | News reports | Coverage that names a launch and when it happened. | Check whether the report cites its source. | ## What you need before you start Before you check a release date, write down the exact model name or family your story covers, along with the company that makes it. Vague labels such as the next big update make it hard to find a matching post, so use the wording the company itself uses wherever you can. Keep a short list of the sources you will check, such as the company's own announcements, dated pages, and news reports from the days before and after a launch. Note the date each source was published, because a source is only useful if you know when it was written. Decide what kind of answer you need. A story about a launch that already happened needs a confirmed date and a link to the official post. A story about an upcoming release needs a clear statement that the timing is an estimate, not a confirmed date. Have your publication's sourcing rules close at hand, and know who on your desk signs off on dates. Set aside a few minutes before publishing to rerun the check, because a post can be updated between drafting and printing. ## Step by step 1. Write down the model family or families your story mentions, using the company's own naming. 2. Search the company's own announcements for each family, and note the date of every post that describes a launch. 3. Check that each post is official, meaning it comes from the company's own website or verified channel and not from a copy or a summary of it. 4. Look for a second, independent dated record of the same launch, such as a timeline kept by a news outlet, and confirm that the two dates agree. 5. Note any gaps. If the company has not published a post, or two sources disagree, write that down instead of guessing a date. 6. For an upcoming release, use an estimate only if you say that it is an estimate and explain what it is based on. Do not present it as a schedule. 7. Compare your notes with the wording of the story. Each date in the copy should match a dated source in your list. 8. Rerun the check shortly before publishing, and again if anything changes. ## Tools that can do it Several options can help you check a release date. Pick one based on whether you need a confirmed launch date or a view of what might come next. Model Odds is made by the team that publishes this site. Model Odds ranks every Anthropic and OpenAI model family by its estimated chance of a release within 30 days. [^1] Anthropic and OpenAI each have their own page that lists every past release. [^1] Each past launch it uses has to be confirmed by an official post and an independent timeline, and each one is listed with its date. [^1] Model Odds runs three estimators side by side and shows the spread between them as a range, so you can see how far apart they are. [^1] The estimate is built from the gaps between recent launches and from how long the current wait has already lasted. [^1] Signals read from company SDKs and docs, and from third-party model catalogues when two of them agree, can only raise the odds. [^1] The estimator can replay any past date without using data from after that date, so you can check how it would have read a day you already know. [^1] You can sign up with a confirmed email to get alerts, and every subscriber gets every company's releases at the same time. [^1] Model Odds is free, and so is its API, with no account needed. [^1] It is a website with a public API. [^1] It runs in the browser as a web app and needs JavaScript. [^1] The public API serves the odds for each model family, the launch record, and service health. [^1] The website and the API share one snapshot that is cached for up to five minutes. [^1] Other sources you can check include the company's own posts, independent release timelines, and news reports. Use the same questions from the step-by-step check for each one, and compare what they say with the table above. ## Common mistakes to avoid Avoid treating an estimate as a confirmed date. A figure that shows how likely a release is within a window is not a date, and your story should say so. Avoid relying on an unofficial copy of a post. Check the original post, because summaries can change or misstate the timing. Avoid skipping the second source. A single record can be wrong, so compare a launch date with a second dated source before you publish. Avoid publishing with an old check. Rerun the date check shortly before you publish, since a later post can change what the record shows. ## Frequently asked questions ### How do tech journalists check AI model release dates before publishing? Start by writing down the exact model family your story covers and the company that makes it. Look for the company's own dated post about each launch, and confirm it is official rather than a copy. Find a second dated record, such as an independent timeline or a news report, and check that the dates agree. If the sources disagree or the company has not posted, say so in the story instead of guessing. Rerun the check shortly before you publish. ### Can Model Odds show the release dates of Anthropic and OpenAI models? Model Odds ranks every Anthropic and OpenAI model family by its estimated chance of a release within 30 days. [^1] Each company has its own page that lists every past release. [^1] Each past launch has to be confirmed by an official post and an independent timeline, and is listed with its date. [^1] The ranking gives estimates, so check the official post before you publish a date. ### Is Model Odds free for journalists to use? Model Odds is free, and so is its API, with no account needed. [^1] It runs in the browser as a web app and needs JavaScript. [^1] The website and the API share one snapshot that is cached for up to five minutes. [^1] Check the time shown on the page before you rely on an estimate for a story. ### Can Model Odds replay how an estimate looked on a past date? The estimator can replay any past date without using data from after that date. [^1] It runs three estimators side by side, and the spread between them is shown as a range. [^1] Use the replay to see how the estimate would have read on a date you already know, and keep any result labeled as an estimate in your notes. ### Can Model Odds send alerts about model releases to a journalist? You can sign up with a confirmed email to get alerts. [^1] Every subscriber gets every company's releases at the same time. [^1] Signals read from company SDKs and docs can only raise the odds, so keep that in mind when you read an alert. [^1] Confirm any date against an official post before you publish it. Model Odds is free, and so is its API, with no account needed. [^1] - [Visit Model Odds](/go/start-modelodds) ## Sources [^1]: Model Odds' own description of itself (the product of this site's publisher) (/go/start-modelodds)