OpenAI announced ChatGPT Work on July 9th, 2026, and has been iterating on it since. According to Simon Willison’s analysis, the product is actually two distinct offerings: Work Cloud, accessible via chatgpt.com and mobile apps, and Work Local, available through the ChatGPT desktop app (formerly called Codex).
Work Cloud is the more powerful version and is available only to subscribers paying $20 per month or higher. Free users and $8/month Go users do not have access. Work Local appears to be a re-skinned version of Codex designed to be more accessible to non-developers.
The product differs from regular ChatGPT Chat in several key ways. Users can select between GPT-5.6 Sol, Luna, or Terra models with various reasoning levels (Light through Ultra), whereas Chat offers a different model selection. According to Willison, Work sessions appear to be billed against a Codex allowance separate from Chat session budgets.
Among Work’s most significant features is a code execution environment with internet access. Unlike ChatGPT Chat, which blocks internet access in its code interpreter, Work allows users to install software packages, clone GitHub repositories, and interact with websites and APIs. The default configuration appears to allow connections to most domains, though administrators can configure an allowlist.
Work includes a full, headless Chrome browser capable of loading websites, filling forms, taking screenshots, and running JavaScript against page elements. Users can handle authentication manually when sites require sign-in, keeping credentials away from the model.
Another notable feature is persistent file storage. While ChatGPT Chat sessions each receive a fresh filesystem, Work sessions maintain separate scratch folders that persist across sessions, allowing users to access files from previous conversations.
Additional capabilities include the ability to build and deploy websites using Cloudflare Workers with HTML, JavaScript, and server-side features; running sub-agent sessions with different models; and scheduling prompt automations to run at specified times.
Willison notes that OpenAI’s official guidance—use Chat for answers and short drafts, Work for completed tasks—is “almost entirely useless” since regular Chat has handled these tasks for years. The practical distinction lies in Work’s exclusive technical capabilities rather than task type.
Key facts
- ChatGPT Work is available only to $20/month and higher subscribers, not free or $8/month users
- Work Cloud and Work Local are two separate products with different capabilities
- Work includes code execution with unrestricted internet access, unlike regular ChatGPT Chat
- Work features a headless Chrome browser for web automation and form filling
- Work provides persistent, cross-session file storage in /workspace/scratch directories
- Work can build and deploy websites using Cloudflare Workers
- Work supports sub-agent sessions and scheduled prompt automations