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Test version · build of 28.10.26 · prototypes · direction note

Tested on 28.10.26

ChatGPT Work

Work is already there, you just have to set it up: connect your tools, give it files, schedule a task, and know what your plan really pays for.

When you finishWork set up: a tool connected with the right permissions, a sourced research report delivered, a scheduled task you know how to stop, and your usage in view.

Let’s go
What you need (3)
  • A paid ChatGPT account: Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise or Edu.
  • The web, the mobile app, or the up-to-date ChatGPT app on Mac or Windows.
  • A tool you already use (Google Drive, Gmail, Slack...), to connect.
  • Level 2 · I set it up
  • 30 min
  • Free: No, you need a paid plan (Plus at least on web and mobile)
  • 15 steps
My mascot at a standing desk, a checked-off task list next to it

Chapter 01 / 08 · 2 min

Understand what Work changes

Chat answers you. Work works for you: it opens a browser, moves on its own, sometimes for a long time, and hands you a deliverable. It's the right tool for research, a document, a spreadsheet or a presentation to finish.

Chapter 02 / 08 · 3 min

Turn on Work

It all happens in the Chat / Work selector. If it's missing, it's your plan or your app version.

  1. Step 2.1: On chatgpt.com, click "Work" in the selector at the top.
  2. Step 2.2: On mobile, open the list at the top of the screen and choose "Work".
  3. Step 2.3: On the Mac or Windows app, pick "ChatGPT" in the menu, then "Work" on the toggle.
  4. Step 2.4: Open a new conversation, or a project: Work then picks up the project's context.
ChatGPT+ New chatProjectsYouChatWork1+Ask anything●
  1. The selector at the top of the page: click "Work".
Plan BIf you get stuck

No Work on your side? Update the app from its menu (Menu, then "Check for Updates" in the desktop app), then check your plan. On a Business or Enterprise account, your admin may have turned it off.

Chapter 03 / 08 · 6 min

Connect a tool, with the right permissions

This is where Work gets useful: it fetches the info from your stuff instead of you pasting it by hand. Start with one tool, the one you open every day.

  1. Step 3.1: Open Settings, then "Plugins" (on an old mobile app version it's still called "Apps").
  2. Step 3.2: Pick the tool, then "Install plugin" or "Connect" if shown.
  3. Step 3.3: Sign in to the account that already has access to the info you want, and read the permissions requested before approving.
  4. Step 3.4: In a Work conversation, call the tool with @ or with the + button.
First test, read-only
Find the folder of my latest project in my Google Drive and sum up the next steps in 5 lines. Don't edit anything, don't share anything.

Each tool has a permission setting: "Always ask" (it asks every time), "Allow read actions" (it reads without asking), "Allow low-risk actions" (it also does low-risk actions). There's also "Allow all actions", reserved for some accounts: avoid it at first.

Plan BIf you get stuck

Tool greyed out or "Disabled by admin"? On a work account, your administrator decides. On a personal account, check that you're signed in to the right account and workspace.

Chapter 04 / 08 · 4 min

Give it files and context

Work doesn't guess. The clearer the material you give it, the less it makes up. Three ways to feed it, from simplest to most powerful.

  • Attach a file to the conversation: for a one-off job.
  • Create a project: it keeps chats, files and your instructions together. When you start Work from a project, it picks up the project's context.
  • On the Mac or Windows app: open a local folder. Give access to the folder you need, not the whole disk.

Chapter 05 / 08 · 4 min

Run a safe research task

Research with a document to hand over is the right first real test. It searches, asks for your approval when needed, then delivers.

  1. Step 5.1: Paste the prompt below into Work.
  2. Step 5.2: Only approve actions you understand.
  3. Step 5.3: Open the document's sources before using it.
To copy into Work
Research cocktail trends for fall 2026 in Lyon. Find 5 ideas with their sources, and put them in a one-page document, clear and ready to share. Don't book anything and don't contact anyone.
Weak

Find me some cool stuff for my bar.

Better

Look for 5 cocktail trends in Lyon, with one source for each, in a one-page document.

For a login, a payment or a booking, Work pauses and you keep the last click.

Chapter 06 / 08 · 5 min

Schedule a task (and a trigger)

A scheduled task comes back on its own. You still read what it produces.

  1. Step 6.1: Describe the task and its frequency in Work.
  2. Step 6.2: Confirm the schedule it suggests.
  3. Step 6.3: Go to "Scheduled" to find it, edit it, pause it or delete it.
  4. Step 6.4: In Settings, "Notifications", pick how you get told: Push, Email, or both.
For a scheduled task
Every Monday at 8 am, prepare a quick rundown of current cocktail and bar trends, with 3 sources. No booking, no contact: just a summary to read.

There's a finer version: the event-triggered task. It runs when something happens in a connected tool: a new Gmail message, a new message in a Slack channel, activity on a GitHub pull request. It only works with Work and a paid plan. In Work, describe the event and what it should do, then check the "Trigger", "Condition" and "Prompt" boxes before approving.

For a triggered task
When I get an email from a supplier with an invoice attached, sum up the amount and the due date in a short message. Don't reply to anyone, don't file anything.
Plan BIf you get stuck

Hit the limit? The number of active tasks depends on the plan: 5 for Plus, 10 for Business and Edu, 15 for Pro and Enterprise (checked 10/28/2026). Pause one or delete one.

Chapter 07 / 08 · 4 min

Know what your plan really pays for

Work and Codex draw from the same pool of usage. It's not a fixed number of messages: it depends on the model, the task and the settings (more reasoning and Fast mode use more).

  • Plus and Business: a 5-hour limit and a weekly limit. You need some left in both to keep going.
  • Pro 100, Pro 200 and Pro 500: no 5-hour limit in Work and Codex for now, but there's still an included allowance.
  • To see where you stand: Settings, then "Usage". It shows what's left and when it resets.

Chapter 08 / 08 · 3 min

The Back / Front rule

Once Work is connected, the temptation is to let it do everything. My rule to avoid being overrun: the AI does the Back, I do the Front.

  • Back (Work): search, sort, summarize, structure, prepare a first draft.
  • Front (you): decide, approve, sign, send. Anything that leaves your place goes through your eyes.
Weak

Answer all my client emails for me.

Better

Read this week's client emails, sort them by urgency and prepare a draft reply for each. Don't send any.

The cheat sheet

The whole guide in 9 lines

Copy it into your notes.

Cheat sheet · ChatGPT Work
1. Work acts, Chat answers. The selector is at the top, on web, mobile and the app.
2. You need a paid plan: Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise or Edu.
3. Connect one tool at a time, on "Always ask" at first. Settings, then Plugins.
4. Web and mobile: no access to your computer's files. The desktop app can, folder by folder.
5. Describe the result and the limits, then open the sources.
6. Never a password in the chat. Reread before any send or payment.
7. Scheduled tasks ("Scheduled") run on their own, you keep control of them.
8. Settings, then Usage: your allowance, shared with Codex.
9. Back / Front: Work prepares, you decide and send.
Next guide · level 2Claude Cowork