OpenAI has launched a new tool called ChatGPT Work. The tool lets AI agents handle everyday office tasks, not just computer code.
ChatGPT Work costs $20 a month. It runs on a modified version of Codex, the company's coding tool built for software engineers.
The goal is to let workers outside tech departments use AI agents the same way developers already do. That means agents that complete full projects on their own instead of just answering questions.
Andrew Ambrosino, the lead engineer for OpenAI's desktop app, said the tool needs deep access to a person's digital life to work well. He has given it access to his inbox, Slack, phone, and apps like Notion and Figma.
Ambrosino said there is a chance the AI could pull information from a private message without knowing it should stay private. He said he accepts that risk for his job and has not run into major problems so far.
Slow Adoption Outside the Company
OpenAI shared data on how many people use Codex. In June, 98 percent of OpenAI employees used the tool.
Outside the company, adoption was much lower. Only 17 percent of organizational subscribers and less than 1 percent of individual subscribers used Codex that same month.
Thibault Sottiaux, who leads OpenAI's core product work, said the company wants to expand who can use agents. He said the tool is meant to complete complex tasks on its own, safely and without constant supervision.
Reaching workers outside software engineering matters for OpenAI's business. Agents that run for longer periods use more computing power, which brings in more money per user.
Other companies, including Harvey for legal work and Clay for sales, already build tools aimed at specific industries. These companies often let customers pick whichever AI model performs best at the time.
Setting Up Access Can Be Confusing
Testing the tool revealed some limits. Setting permissions for the AI to access a cloud drive produced error messages when trying to grant only partial access.
A pop-up eventually explained that full access was required for the tool to work at all. Many settings are only available on the web version, so switching between the web and mobile app was often necessary.
ChatGPT Work can create new events on a linked Google Calendar, but it cannot create new calendars. Joe Gershenson, who leads engineering for OpenAI's harness team, said the company is still working on making settings easier for new users.
Token use can add up fast. One test using the tool for four days used more than 80 million tokens, which cost $65 based on the model's own tracking, more than three times the monthly subscription price.
ChatGPT Work also competes directly with Anthropic's Claude Cowork and Claude Code. When the app was first opened during testing, it asked to import data from Claude Cowork.
OpenAI's engineers said they do not closely study competitor products. Separate reports comparing coding tools, including one from Databricks, found that different combinations of AI models and supporting software produce different results on the same tasks.
Sottiaux said the company will keep working to lower costs for users. He pointed to a recent 80 percent price cut on OpenAI's Luna model as an example of that effort.
