OpenAI has introduced a new version of ChatGPT designed specifically for the workplace, marking a significant shift in how the company envisions artificial intelligence being used in everyday professional life. Rather than simply answering questions or refining prompts, the new platform, called ChatGPT Work, is built to automate tasks, analyze information, create business documents, schedule recurring workflows, and complete projects by connecting directly with the applications employees already use.
The launch represents OpenAI’s latest effort to move artificial intelligence beyond its role as a conversational assistant and into one that actively performs work across multiple digital platforms. According to the company, ChatGPT Work integrates with widely used workplace services including Gmail, Slack, Microsoft Teams, Google Drive, calendars, and other productivity tools, allowing users to gather information from multiple sources and generate finished work products with minimal manual input.
OpenAI said the platform is intended to support a broad range of professional activities, from producing reports and campaign briefs to drafting meeting agendas based on Slack conversations, creating interactive dashboards, and even building websites and applications. Powered by the company’s latest GPT-5.6 model, ChatGPT Work is available across web, desktop, and mobile platforms.
During a briefing announcing the launch, OpenAI Product Marketing Executive Sahil Punamia described the release as a major evolution in the company’s flagship chatbot.
“For many folks around the world, for almost a billion users, it’s going to move beyond answering questions to actually getting real work done, and that’s a big shift in how people think about ChatGPT,” Punamia said.
Central to the new platform is the integration of Codex, OpenAI’s software development technology, into the mainstream ChatGPT experience. Codex was originally created for programmers and software engineers, but OpenAI said growing demand has shown that many users want similar capabilities for everyday business tasks that extend well beyond coding.
The company said approximately 40 percent of ChatGPT prompts submitted by Australian users are already related to work, while more than 40 percent of Codex requests involve tasks that are not programming-related. Those figures reflect broader changes in how businesses and professionals are adopting artificial intelligence as part of routine workflows.
One of the platform’s new features enables users to automate recurring responsibilities such as weekly or monthly reports. Another desktop capability, known as Computer Use, allows ChatGPT Work to operate across applications, browsers, and software tools by clicking, typing, and moving files on a user’s behalf while tasks are processed in the background. According to an OpenAI blog post, the feature is designed to execute workflows across connected applications rather than simply generate text.
During the product demonstration, Punamia illustrated how the system can assemble information from multiple workplace services without requiring detailed instructions from users. In one example, he pasted a Slack message reminding him to prepare for an upcoming influencer briefing and asked ChatGPT Work to produce a complete outline with suggested discussion topics.
Rather than requiring separate commands for each application, the platform automatically retrieved relevant Slack conversations, extracted supporting information from a Google document prepared by a colleague, reviewed calendar invitations, and combined those sources into a structured briefing.
“This is work that would have taken me about half an hour or an hour to piece together myself, and it’s no fun. I’d rather just have the outline and start getting to think about what I want to say,” Punamia said.
OpenAI also showcased how businesses are beginning to deploy the platform in practical settings. Virgin Atlantic’s Head of Digital Products, Nathan Bolt, used ChatGPT Work to examine a passenger’s customer journey, compare the experience with competing airlines, and condense weeks of data analysis into a matter of hours while contributing to the airline’s five-year strategic planning process.
The technology is also being adopted in Australia. Australian Payments Plus, which operates payment infrastructure including Eftpos, BPAY, and the country’s real-time payments network, has rolled out ChatGPT Work across its organization.
Chief Operations Officer Jackson Backhouse said the platform operates within the company’s existing security and identity access management systems, reducing the need for employees to rely on unauthorized artificial intelligence tools.
“Rather than restricting our way to safety, we gave employees enterprise-grade tools with clear guidance and boundaries and let teams find their own use cases,” Backhouse said. He added that the organization complements employee access with security controls intended to prevent sensitive information from being shared through unapproved channels.
Backhouse also emphasized that artificial intelligence remains a supporting tool rather than a replacement for human oversight. While payment reconciliation issues continue to be resolved by employees, he said ChatGPT Work enables technical teams to identify data inconsistencies more quickly before specialists validate the findings and complete operational approvals.
The launch comes amid intensifying competition across the artificial intelligence industry as major developers race to establish their platforms as indispensable workplace tools. Australia has emerged as one of the industry’s fastest-growing markets, ranking among OpenAI’s top five countries for weekly paying users. Between January and March alone, usage of Codex in Australia increased sixfold, underscoring growing demand for enterprise-focused AI products.
Competitive pressure has accelerated in recent months. Anthropic expanded its Claude Cowork agent to web and mobile platforms on July 7, while Google earlier introduced its always-on AI agent, Spark. The rivalry comes as Anthropic, the developer of Claude, overtook OpenAI this year as the world’s most valuable artificial intelligence company. In June, Anthropic also called for a global pause in the development of the most advanced AI systems.
OpenAI’s latest product arrives as the company continues its own rapid evolution. Since launching ChatGPT in November 2022, the organization has transformed from a nonprofit into a for-profit company, reaching a valuation of US$852 billion with backing from investors including Amazon, Microsoft, and Nvidia. Although it has become one of the world’s most influential AI developers, OpenAI was recently surpassed in valuation by Anthropic, whose market value reached US$965 billion in late May.
The growing adoption of workplace AI has also been accompanied by continued public scrutiny. Roy Morgan recently ranked OpenAI among Australia’s 20 most distrusted brands, reflecting ongoing concerns surrounding ethics, transparency, and commercial motivations even as businesses increasingly integrate artificial intelligence into everyday operations.
With ChatGPT Work now positioned as an AI system capable of connecting applications, automating workflows, and producing finished business outputs across multiple industries, OpenAI is expanding the role of ChatGPT from a conversational assistant to a platform designed to carry out professional work alongside its users.
