OpenAI launches ChatGPT Work, rivaling Anthropic's Claude Cowork

ChatGPT Work will roll out on Thursday on web and mobile

Published: Fri, Jul 10, 2026 · 08:25 AM

OpenAI showcased a new AI agent on Thursday (Jul 9) designed to help white-collar workers access the power of coding tools without the sticker shock.

The agent, called ChatGPT Work, combines OpenAI’s popular chatbot with its AI coding tool, Codex, to create documents, presentations, and websites, the company said. The service is powered by OpenAI’s most advanced AI model, GPT-5.6, which also debuted on Thursday.

The launch of GPT-5.6 was delayed last month at the US government’s request over national security concerns.

ChatGPT Work is a direct response to Anthropic’s Claude Cowork, an agent launched in January that can plan and execute multi-step tasks autonomously.

The launch reflects intensifying competition to build and sell AI tools for professional use, as technology companies seek to capitalise on rising demand for autonomous agents that can complete complex tasks with minimal human input.

Anthropic and OpenAI — both preparing for possible public offerings soon — are competing for enterprise business, which is more lucrative than selling products to consumers.

Designed for Non-Coders

Both ChatGPT Work and Claude Cowork are aimed at non-coders who want to leverage AI coding tools, which are often more capable than standard chatbots but require specialised knowledge.

OpenAI officials emphasised that its new offerings would be both cheaper and more broadly available than rival products.

The company launched three different sizes of its GPT-5.6 model.

“You can apply the model’s ability to code to solve problems across every industry,” said Ty Geri, product manager for ChatGPT Work, in an interview.

Geri described OpenAI’s GPT-5.6 model as “competitive with models that are far, far more expensive at twice the speed and much, much cheaper.”

Cost Efficiency a Key Focus

Thursday’s announcement also underscores growing concern among companies about the high cost of using such AI tools.

Max Weinbach, analyst at consulting firm Creative Strategies, noted that the smallest version of OpenAI’s new model can complete a task about as well as the largest version — but at one-fifth of the cost.

“This is the first time where I’ve seen the small models complete these kinds of tasks,” he said.

Previous Offerings and Rollout

Before this launch, OpenAI’s agentic offerings included:

• Operator and deep research, later consolidated into ChatGPT Agent for individual users
• Workspace Agents for enterprise workflow automation

ChatGPT Work will roll out on Thursday on web and mobile, beginning with Pro, Enterprise, and Edu users, and will expand to Plus and Business users over the next few days.

OpenAI also announced a new ChatGPT desktop application and a hosted websites feature, allowing users to build and share websites directly through ChatGPT Work.

— REUTERS