# Frontier Model

> A model near the leading edge of current AI capability, often across reasoning, coding, multimodal, or agentic tasks.

- Category: Models & Training
- Stage: Established
- Also called: Leading model, State-of-the-art model
- Canonical: https://www.joelcsaji.com/ai-dictionary/frontier-model

## Plain English

One of the best models currently available.

## Example

An organization reserves frontier models for complex analysis and uses smaller models for routine work.

## Why it matters

Frontier models shape expectations, regulation, costs, benchmarks, and competitive product claims.

## Related

- [Reasoning Model](https://www.joelcsaji.com/ai-dictionary/reasoning-model)
- [Evals](https://www.joelcsaji.com/ai-dictionary/evals)
- [Model Routing](https://www.joelcsaji.com/ai-dictionary/model-routing)

## Mentioned in

- [Fable 5, Export Controls, and GLM 5.2](https://www.joelcsaji.com/blog/fable-5-export-controls-and-glm-5-2)

## Sources

- [Stanford HAI: 2026 AI Index](https://hai.stanford.edu/ai-index/2026-ai-index-report)