Anthropic releases Claude Opus 4.8 with focus on honesty and reduced hallucination

Jul 10, 2026

Anthropic has released Claude Opus 4.8, described as a modest but tangible improvement over its predecessor. The model is noted for its increased honesty, being around four times less likely to allow flaws in code to pass unremarked, and achieving the lowest incorrect rate on hallucination benchmarks by abstaining on uncertain questions. Pricing remains at $5/million input and $25/million output, with a new fast mode at double the price for research preview organizations.

Why it matters: This release signals a shift in AI development priorities toward honesty and reliability over raw capability, with measurable reductions in hallucination and unsupported claims.

Full story at: Simon Willison's Weblog ↗