OpenAI ChatGPT Work + GPT-5.6 launch: agent for workflows

OpenAI has launched ChatGPT Work, a new agent built on GPT-5.6 and Codex technology that can operate across apps and files for hours to complete complex tasks and deliver finished outputs such as Excel or Word documents. The public rollout follows approval about two weeks after the Trump administration restricted GPT-5.6 access to select organizations.

What is ChatGPT Work?

ChatGPT Work is an agent inside ChatGPT that combines Codex with third-party integrations and GPT-5.6 to run entire workflows from a single prompt. It can keep context across multiple steps, work for hours on complex projects, and produce final deliverables like campaign briefs, adapted marketing assets or spreadsheets based on given tasks.

The product bundles existing capabilities into a single experience: Codex-based automation, scheduled tasks, long-running operations and connections to external data sources. The launch includes a "Unified Plugins Directory" that makes integrations discoverable and callable by "@" mention or by letting the agent pick the relevant data source automatically.

What plugins and integrations does it use?

At launch the Unified Plugins Directory includes Google Drive, SharePoint, Slack, Microsoft Teams, Gmail, Outlook, Salesforce, Adobe, Zoom, LinkedIn, GitHub, Canva, and Dropbox, among others. Users can summon specific plugins by mentioning them, or rely on the agent to select which data source to consult.

OpenAI has returned to a plugins strategy it tried in 2023 and abandoned after early problems. OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman admitted those first plugins "didn't work at all because the models weren't ready." The company now expects GPT-5.6 to change that balance.

How will OpenAI roll out and bill ChatGPT Work?

Access is phased: Pro, Enterprise, and Edu users on web and mobile get early access, with Plus and Business customers to follow in the coming days. The ChatGPT desktop app for Mac and Windows makes ChatGPT Work available immediately for all plans, including the free tier, though the Windows download link still points to the Codex app at the time of this writing.

Billing uses agent-based consumption: ChatGPT Work shares the same consumption pool as Codex, ChatGPT for Excel, and Workspace Agents. How much a task consumes depends on its size, complexity, and the model chosen. The Codex pricing page lists included quotas and extra credits for coding tasks, and OpenAI warns that consumption for Work tasks may differ. When quotas run out, some Codex Plus and Pro users can buy more credits; others must upgrade or wait for the quota to reset. Enterprise and Edu admins can apply Spend Controls at workspace, group, and individual levels.

What security controls are included?

OpenAI says it added an "Auto-Review" feature where advanced models check important actions before they run. According to the company, Auto-Review blocked 100 percent of attempts to extract protected data during adversarial red-teaming.

Why does this matter?

ChatGPT Work signals an attempt to merge ChatGPT's assistant capabilities with Codex's automation into a single product that can own multi-step, cross-app workflows. That shifts the product from short conversational help toward executing longer projects end-to-end, which affects knowledge workers who manage files, messaging and CRM systems. The move also resurrects a plugins strategy that failed in 2023, betting that GPT-5.6's capabilities will make integrations reliable enough to automate higher-stakes tasks.

What to watch

Check whether the Plugins Directory actually connects reliably to the listed services at scale and whether enterprise Spend Controls curb unexpected consumption. Also watch usage signals on the desktop app versus web and mobile, and whether OpenAI updates the Codex pricing page to specify quotas for Work tasks.