OpenAI is merging ChatGPT’s Chat and Work tabs into a single experience in the ChatGPT desktop app, the company has told users by email, in the latest step towards turning its chatbot into a tool that carries tasks through to completion rather than just answering questions.
The change was reported by TechCrunch on 2 November 2026 from an email OpenAI sent to subscribers. The merged experience will first be available to select users for feedback before a wider rollout. OpenAI has not given a date for the broader release, and most users will keep the current two-tab layout for now.
What changes
The ChatGPT desktop app is currently split into ChatGPT and Codex sections, and the ChatGPT side is divided again into Chat and Work tabs. Chat handles quick questions and conversational help; Work is designed for longer, multi-step tasks that produce finished deliverables. The merger removes the need to choose between the two before starting a task.
“This will enable you to move from exploring an idea to having ChatGPT carry it through, all in one place,” OpenAI wrote in the email, as quoted by TechCrunch. “You can bring in your files and plugins and ask ChatGPT to build a website, create a presentation, or do things for you on the web, while reviewing and guiding its work.”
In practice, the agent features that sat behind the Work tab — working with files and plugins, building a website or a slide deck, carrying out jobs on the web — will be available from the same conversation where a user starts chatting, with the user steering each step as it runs.
What stays separate: Codex
Codex is not being folded into the same screen. “Codex will remain a separate experience in the ChatGPT desktop app,” the email said, keeping its development-focused workflow apart from the merged Chat experience.
The change follows a similar move by rival Anthropic, which merged Claude’s chat and Cowork functions into one screen in September 2026.
The usage change that matters more for heavy users
Alongside the interface merger, OpenAI is changing how usage is counted. From December, ChatGPT and Codex will draw tokens — the units of text a model takes in and puts out — from one shared allowance pool on Business, Plus and Pro plans, according to OpenAI’s support article on usage limits. Settings > Usage will show the remaining balance and reset times for the combined pool.
OpenAI said the change won’t impact most users, but depending on usage and model, some people may need to wait for resets more frequently. Instant chat will not draw from the allowance, and the email describes it as unlimited on paid plans.
Separately, accounts on Pro 100 and Pro 500 saw their allowances for Work and Codex double as of 29 October, OpenAI’s Pro tiers page shows — a move that came after user criticism of planned limit changes. OpenAI has not published the token allowance for each plan, or the rate at which each model draws the shared pool down.
What is still unknown
No date has been announced for the wider rollout, and OpenAI has not said which users are in the first test group, whether the merged experience will reach free users, or whether the web and mobile apps will follow the desktop change. Until those details appear, the two-tab layout remains the reality for most ChatGPT users — the merger is a test, not yet a finished redesign.
FAQ
Is ChatGPT’s Work tab disappearing for everyone now?
No. The merged Chat and Work experience goes first to a small group of selected users for feedback. OpenAI has given no date for a wider rollout.
Is Codex being merged into ChatGPT too?
No. Codex stays a separate experience inside the ChatGPT desktop app, although it will share a usage allowance with ChatGPT from December.
Will the shared allowance affect all users?
OpenAI says most users won’t notice, but heavy users of particular models may hit resets more often. Instant chat does not draw from the allowance.
Sources
- TechCrunch, “OpenAI is finally merging ChatGPT’s Chat and Work tabs”, 2 Nov 2026: https://techcrunch.com/2026/11/02/openai-is-finally-merging-chatgpts-chat-and-work-tabs/
- BetaNews, “OpenAI to merge ChatGPT Chat and Work, pool Codex usage”, 2 Nov 2026: https://betanews.com/article/chatgpt-work-merge-codex/
- ShiftDelete, “ChatGPT Work Tab Merges Into Chat, Codex Shares Limits”, 2 Nov 2026: https://shiftdelete.net/en/chatgpt-work
