OpenAI moves to merge ChatGPT's Chat and Work tabs

OpenAI is preparing to merge the Chat and Work tabs inside its ChatGPT experience, according to an email sent to users. The change will first reach a select group of users for feedback before it is rolled out more widely.

The problem it addresses is navigational. The ChatGPT desktop app already splits into a ChatGPT section and a Codex section, and the ChatGPT side is further divided into Chat and Work tabs. With that many layers, it is easy to lose track of where you are working and where a given project actually lives.

In the email, OpenAI framed the merge as continuity: users will be able to move from exploring an idea to having ChatGPT carry it through, all in one place. The company said people can bring in their own files and plugins and ask ChatGPT to build a website, create a presentation or do things for them on the web, while reviewing and guiding its work.

Codex, however, is not part of the consolidation. The same email states that Codex will remain a separate experience within the ChatGPT desktop app, so what is being folded together is the split between conversation and task execution inside ChatGPT itself, not the coding agent.

For heavy users, the more noticeable change may come on the usage side. After the shift, both ChatGPT and Codex will draw tokens from the same allowance pool. OpenAI said this will not affect most users, but depending on usage and model, some people might need to wait for resets more frequently.

Read as a product decision, the merge narrows the gap between conversation and execution. Chat had been the place to think out loud, while Work had been the place to hand off something that runs for a stretch. Putting them together compresses exploration, execution and review into one continuous loop.

The competitive context is hard to miss. TechCrunch notes that Anthropic merged Claude's chat and Cowork functions into a single screen in September, so both companies are converging on the same idea: the chat surface itself should be where deliverable work gets done, not just where questions get answered.

What to watch next is how far the early test expands, how the merged interface handles the files and plugins that used to belong to one tab or the other, and whether a shared allowance pool changes how power users pace their usage or think about what they pay for.