AI-Needle
We show this table for reference; we do not rank on it.
A long-context retrieval benchmark that measures whether a model can recover relevant information embedded deep inside very long contexts.
Benchmark score on AI-Needle — October 29, 2026
We compile the AI-Needle rows from provider self-reports and secondary reports. Claude Opus 4.5 leads the table at 74%, followed by Qwen3.5 397B (68.7%) and Qwen3.6 Plus (68.3%). We do not use these results to rank models overall.
Claude Opus 4.5
Anthropic
Qwen3.5 397B
Alibaba
Qwen3.6 Plus
Alibaba
4 modelsReasoningCurrentDisplay onlyUpdated October 29, 2026
Benchmark score table (4 models)
| Rank | Model / configuration | Score | Parameters (B) | Open / closed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Claude Opus 4.5Anthropic | 74% | Not reported | Closed |
| 2 | Qwen3.5 397BAlibaba | 68.7% | Not reported | Open |
| 3 | Qwen3.6 PlusAlibaba | 68.3% | Not reported | Closed |
| 4 | GLM-5Z.AI | 63.3% | Not reported | Open |
Among the reported AI-Needle rows, Claude Opus 4.5 is first at 74%. The third row is 5.7 points behind. The broader top-10 range is 10.7 points, so the table still separates the published systems.
4 models have been evaluated on AI-Needle. The benchmark falls in the Reasoning category. AI-Needle is currently displayed for reference but excluded from the scoring formula, so it does not directly affect overall rankings.
About AI-Needle
Year
2026
Tasks
Long-context retrieval
Format
Needle-in-a-haystack recall
Difficulty
Long-context memory
AI-Needle is useful for testing whether very large context windows are actually usable rather than just headline numbers. It rewards precise recall under distractors and long-document clutter.
Freshness and provenance
Version
AI-Needle 2026
Refresh cadence
Quarterly
Staleness state
Current
Question availability
Public benchmark set
BenchLM uses freshness metadata to decide whether a benchmark should still be treated as a strong differentiator, a benchmark to watch, or a display-only reference. For the full scoring policy, see the BenchLM methodology page.
Questions
What does AI-Needle measure?
A long-context retrieval benchmark that measures whether a model can recover relevant information embedded deep inside very long contexts.
Which model scores highest on AI-Needle?
Claude Opus 4.5 by Anthropic currently leads with a score of 74% on AI-Needle.
How many models are evaluated on AI-Needle?
4 AI models have published results on AI-Needle in the BenchLM catalog.
Compare top models on AI-Needle
Know when it’s worth switching models
The model to choose, the cheaper alternative, and the release we would wait on.
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