ChatGPT Work is OpenAI's mode for longer, multi-step work and finished deliverables. Instead of answering one message at a time, it takes on the whole job: researching a topic, analyzing information, and producing a document, a spreadsheet, a presentation, a report, or a Site.
This page is the plain-English version for business owners. What Work is, what it can actually do, what you need to run it, where it runs, and the question nobody answers for you: what do you hand it first.
What is ChatGPT Work?
ChatGPT now has three modes. Chat handles questions and conversation, the fast familiar thing you already use. Work takes on longer research and creates finished materials. Codex stays the dedicated agent for software development and technical work.
In practice the difference is simple. Chat answers you. Work works for you. You describe the outcome and the review criteria, you step away, and you come back to something built.
One honest note before you go looking for it. OpenAI says Work is rolling out gradually to eligible accounts, so if you do not see it yet, your account may not have access. Availability keeps expanding as the rollout progresses.
How is it different from regular ChatGPT chat?
Chat gives you an answer you then have to act on. Work produces the artifact. It holds a longer task, uses the files and context you give it, and delivers the deliverable rather than a description of one.
You switch between them in the interface. On desktop, you select Work or Codex from the mode switcher, and start a new Chat with the Quick chat button in the left navigation bar. On mobile, you use the dropdown at the top of the screen that shows Chat or Work.
How is it different from Codex?
Different jobs. Codex is for writing and debugging code, running tests and commands, and working with a repository. Work is for research and business deliverables. Codex is not a selectable mode on web or mobile at all, though you can reach supported desktop Codex tasks from the Remote tab in the ChatGPT mobile app.
What can ChatGPT Work actually do?
Read this list as an owner rather than as a technologist. Every line is a job somebody is currently doing by hand at 11pm.
- Finished deliverables. A document, a spreadsheet, a presentation, a report, or a Site, produced from your brief rather than described back to you.
- Real research. Take a topic, work through it, and analyze what it found rather than summarizing the first page of results.
- Projects. A project keeps related conversations, files, and instructions together, so a recurring job keeps its context.
- Scheduled Tasks. Work can run once, repeat on a schedule or a trigger, or monitor for changes.
- Your files, on desktop. In the desktop app, Work can use local files and desktop apps with your permission.
- Plugins. OpenAI migrated the old app directory to a Plugin directory on July 9, 2026. A plugin packages the capability needed for a workflow, and can include skills, apps, and app templates. The plugin directory is available in ChatGPT Work.
- Skills. Reusable, shareable workflows that tell ChatGPT how to do a specific task, so it does that task the same way every time.
- You stay in the loop. OpenAI's documentation is explicit that you can review progress, answer questions, change direction, and approve important actions as the work runs.
Skills, and the part most people miss
This is the paragraph worth slowing down for, because it is the one with consequences.
A skill is a reusable workflow: instructions, examples, and sometimes code, packaged so an agent performs a task consistently instead of improvising it. Once a skill is installed, ChatGPT can reach for it automatically when it is relevant.
Here is the part that matters. OpenAI's skills follow the Agent Skills open standard, which means, in OpenAI's own words, you can download a skill from one product and install it in another. That standard was originally developed by Anthropic and released openly, and it has since been adopted across a long list of agent products. A skill in that format is just a folder with a SKILL.md file describing what to do, plus any scripts, references, or templates it needs.
Translated out of the jargon: the instructions that tell an agent how to do your work are becoming portable. They are not locked to one vendor's app.
That is the whole premise of what we sell, and we will come back to it.
What do you need to use ChatGPT Work?
Three things, and none of them is a developer:
- A paid ChatGPT plan. Work is available on eligible paid plans. OpenAI has not published a single fixed plan list for Work itself, so check your own account rather than trusting a list you read somewhere.
- The ChatGPT desktop app, if you want Work to touch files on your computer. This is the one that surprises people, and the FAQ below spells out exactly why.
- An internet connection.
One honest note on cost. OpenAI says Work follows the same usage structure as Codex, and points to the Codex pricing page for included usage and additional credits. It also notes that those examples are based on coding tasks, so your Work usage will vary by task. Worth knowing before you hand it your entire month.
What does the setup actually look like?
On the web or mobile app, open ChatGPT and select Work, start a conversation or open a project, add the files and context it should use, then describe the deliverable you want.
On desktop, open the app, start a chat or open a project or local folder, select Work from the mode switcher, and describe the outcome along with any constraints and review criteria it should apply.
That is the setup. The hard part was never the setup. It is knowing what to ask for.
So what do you hand it first?
Here is the gap nobody warns you about. Work gave every business owner an agent that can produce real deliverables. It did not come with the answer to what you should hand it, or the instructions to get that one thing running correctly on your own accounts.
Most owners open it, type something vague, get something mediocre, and quietly go back to doing the task themselves. The agent was never the problem. The brief was.
That gap is the reason this store exists.
What is a self-install kit?
A kit is the complete instruction package your own AI agent follows to install one specific workflow on your own accounts. It is not a course, and it is not software you rent from us.
You buy the kit once. You open it in your agent. The agent reads it, interviews you about your setup, and installs the workflow: your tools, your logins, your data. When it is done, the automation is yours to keep. No developer, no agency retainer, and no monthly fee from us.
Do these work with ChatGPT Work?
Straight answer, and the same one we give on How Self-Install Kits Work: your kit is written for Claude Cowork first, but its files describe what to achieve rather than which buttons to press, so a capable AI agent on another platform, like ChatGPT Work, can follow the same steps. If anything does not map to your setup, email support and we will get you working.
You will also notice every kit on this site is titled as a Claude Cowork kit. That is deliberate rather than an oversight. We name kits after the agent they are built and tested against, because we would rather be accurate about where a kit is proven than imply a guarantee we have not earned on every platform. The get-it-working guarantee covers you either way.
If you want the mechanics, How Self-Install Kits Work walks through the install step by step, and the FAQ answers the questions buyers actually ask.
Where should you start?
Start with the task that eats the most hours and the least judgment. That is almost always the right first handoff, and it is usually the one that pays for every kit after it.
Not ready to buy anything? Take the free method instead. The Automation Playbook walks you through finding the hour that is hiding in your week, the order to install things in, and how to run the first handoff. Get the Automation Playbook.
ChatGPT Work FAQ
What is ChatGPT Work in simple terms?
ChatGPT Work is the mode in ChatGPT built for longer, multi-step work and finished deliverables. You use it to research a topic, analyze information, or create a document, spreadsheet, presentation, report, or Site. It sits alongside Chat, which handles questions and conversation, and Codex, which is the dedicated agent for software development.
Where does ChatGPT Work run, and does it matter?
It matters more than any other detail on this page, so here it is plainly.
Work on the web and in the mobile app runs in the cloud. Work in the desktop app can also use local files and desktop apps, with your permission.
That distinction is the one that decides whether a workflow is even possible. If the job needs to read a folder on your machine, it needs the desktop app. Web and mobile Work cannot directly access files on your computer.
Can ChatGPT Work use the files on my computer?
Yes, in the desktop app. You open a local folder or project and grant access only to the files the task needs. OpenAI's documentation says that in the desktop app, local files and outputs remain on that computer unless you explicitly move or share them. Work on web and mobile cannot directly access files on your computer.
Do my Work conversations sync across my devices?
Not fully, and this catches people out. OpenAI says that at launch, cloud Work conversations do not appear in desktop Work, and desktop Work threads and local files stay on that computer. Work started on the web or mobile continues on supported cloud surfaces. Plan which surface a job lives on before you start it rather than after.
Which ChatGPT plan do I need?
A paid one. OpenAI says Work is available on ChatGPT web and mobile for eligible paid plans, and in the desktop app when it is included for your plan and workspace. OpenAI has not published a single fixed plan list for Work itself, and access is still rolling out, so check your own account. On skills specifically, OpenAI states that personal skills in Work are available on paid plans except Free and Go.
Is ChatGPT Work safe to give access to my accounts?
The controls are real, and so is your responsibility. OpenAI's guidance for Work is to grant access only to the files a task actually needs, and its documentation is explicit that you can review progress, change direction, and approve important actions while the work runs. Where a plugin connects to an outside system, approving that app in ChatGPT does not override your permissions in the source system: if you cannot reach a file or record in the connected tool, the plugin should not get you there either.
The honest framing is the same one we would give for any agent. Start with low-stakes work in a narrow folder, watch it, require approval on anything that sends, spends, or deletes, and widen its access as it earns trust. Exactly how you would onboard a new hire.
What are plugins and skills in ChatGPT Work?
A plugin is a packaged capability for a workflow, and it can include skills, apps, and app templates. OpenAI migrated the old app directory to the Plugin directory on July 9, 2026, and the directory is available in ChatGPT Work. A skill is the reusable instruction set inside it: how to do one specific task, the same way each time. Whether you can install or invoke a given plugin depends on your plan, workspace settings, role, surface, and region.
Can I use the same skill in different AI tools?
That is the direction things are moving. OpenAI's skills follow the Agent Skills open standard, and OpenAI says you can download a skill from one product and install it in another. The standard was originally developed by Anthropic and released openly. One caution from OpenAI's own documentation: personal skills must be added separately on desktop and on web or mobile, and do not sync automatically across those surfaces.
What should I automate with ChatGPT Work first?
Pick the task that costs you the most hours and the least judgment: the repetitive follow-up, the manual data entry, the report you rebuild every week. Then give the agent a real brief rather than a vague prompt. That is what a self-install kit is: the brief, written out, so your agent installs the workflow correctly the first time.
Shop Automations is an independent company. ChatGPT, ChatGPT Work, and Codex are products of OpenAI, and Claude and Claude Cowork are products of Anthropic. We are not affiliated with or endorsed by either. Every claim about ChatGPT Work on this page comes from OpenAI's own documentation, verified July 24, 2026: ChatGPT Work and Codex, Skills in ChatGPT, and Plugins in ChatGPT and Codex. The Agent Skills open standard is documented at agentskills.io. OpenAI ships fast and Work is still rolling out, so check their documentation for the current details.