OpenAI plans to combine the separate Chat and Work areas of its ChatGPT desktop app starting in December, a change the company says will be tried with a limited group of users before reaching a wider audience. The ChatGPT Chat and Work tabs merge is intended to simplify navigation inside the app, where the two sections currently sit apart within a broader ChatGPT area that also includes Codex.
Word of the shift appeared in a note on OpenAI’s website titled “Understanding ChatGPT and Codex usage limits,” and the company also emailed existing users with similar details. That message said the combined experience will first go to selected users so OpenAI can gather feedback before a broader release.
What the combined experience changes
Under the current layout, the desktop app separates ChatGPT from Codex, and the ChatGPT portion is split again into Chat and Work tabs. According to the email described to users, folding Work into the main ChatGPT experience is meant to let people stay in one place as they move from thinking through an idea to having ChatGPT carry it out. The message said users will be able to bring in files and plugins and ask ChatGPT to build a website, make a presentation, or perform tasks on the web while they review and guide the output.
Codex will not disappear into the main ChatGPT interface. OpenAI said it will continue to operate as a separate experience within the ChatGPT desktop app.
Usage allowances become shared
For Plus, Pro, and Business subscribers, the December change also means that usage allowances will be shared between ChatGPT and Codex. OpenAI said the two products will draw from the same pool of tokens, which the company described as the units of information a model processes and generates.
How quickly that pool is used will vary by model and task. OpenAI’s note said more advanced models and more complex requests generally consume more of the allowance, while instant chat will not count against it.
OpenAI acknowledged that some customers could notice a difference. Although the company expects most users will not be affected, it said that depending on usage and model, some may need to wait for resets more often than they do now. OpenAI also said it is preparing for the transition with the aim of preventing disruption to existing workflows.
Following a rival's lead
The consolidation comes after Anthropic combined Claude’s chat and Cowork functions onto a single screen in September. OpenAI’s move follows that earlier step by a competitor, though the company’s stated focus is on reducing friction in its own desktop app and on giving users a single place to explore and execute tasks.
For now, the change remains scheduled rather than active. OpenAI’s timeline puts the test phase first, with the broader availability to follow after feedback from the select group of users.
