OpenAI is making its biggest play for the office

• OpenAI integrates Codex into its ChatGPT app, creating a hub for work and AI tools.
• OpenAI’s new GPT-5.6 models are designed to meet varying user needs with different price points.
• The wave of models and product releases comes amid fierce competition in both areas.

OpenAI has built a super app for work.

On Thursday, the company announced it is now merging its popular Codex AI coding tool into its ChatGPT desktop app, a move to turn the flagship AI app into a one-stop shop for engineers and other professionals. OpenAI also revealed a Work setting for the ChatGPT app and a batch of state-of-the-art AI models in its new GPT-5.6 family.

The latest wave of releases encapsulates OpenAI’s ambitious strategy: train uber-powerful AI models, deliver them to ChatGPT’s massive user base, and become an indispensable part of life for millions of workers. ChatGPT has almost 1 billion users, OpenAI engineer Thibault Sottiaux said on a Thursday livestream.

OpenAI, which had an early lead in the industry, is fighting to stay at the forefront of AI capabilities, duking it out release by release with rival Anthropic and trying to stay ahead of Google, Meta, SpaceXAI, and cheaper Chinese AI models. Meta also announced its first paid AI model on Thursday.

OpenAI originally launched Codex as a software engineering tool and has since expanded its reach to a broader market. In June, the company released a report that said areas like data analysis and research were growing faster than traditional coding uses on Codex and that 5 million people use the tool each week.

Codex leader Andrew Ambrosino called Thursday’s merger of Codex into ChatGPT “only the first” step: “We’re working to unify the experience across web, mobile, and desktop—but we want to do it thoughtfully, not smash two things together with a toggle and call it a day.”

On OpenAI’s Thursday livestream, Sottiaux and other colleagues showcased the desktop app’s new Work feature, which will incorporate popular aspects of Codex, such as the ability to modify a computer’s files and to operate autonomously in a browser.

OpenAI has filed the confidential paperwork to go public. The AI competition, government involvement, and research progress could affect the timing of the company’s initial public offering.

When asked by CNBC on Thursday if OpenAI would go public this year, CEO Sam Altman said, “I don’t know.”

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