OpenAI merges the Chat and Work tabs in ChatGPT: a unified interface and a shared token pool

What's changing in ChatGPT

The ChatGPT desktop app is confusingly organized: it has ChatGPT and Codex sections, and within the former there are Chat and Work tabs. Users sometimes find it hard to remember exactly where they are working and where their project is located. To simplify navigation, OpenAI is preparing to merge the Chat and Work tabs into a single interface — the company announced this in a letter to users, which TechCrunch has published.

How the new interface will work

According to OpenAI, the merge will make it possible to 'go from exploring an idea to implementing it with ChatGPT in one place': the user will be able to connect their files and plugins and ask ChatGPT to build a website, create a presentation, or perform actions on the internet, while monitoring and guiding its work. Codex, meanwhile, will remain a separate section of the desktop app.

Shared token pool and rollout stages

First, the new interface will be rolled out to individual users — their feedback will be taken into account before a wider release. In addition, after the transition, ChatGPT and Codex will draw tokens from a single shared pool. OpenAI says this will change nothing for most users, but depending on the model and the volume of usage, some will have to wait more often for the limit to reset.

Context: Anthropic's move

Rival Anthropic made a similar decision earlier: in September it merged the Claude chat and the Cowork feature into a single screen. Thus, OpenAI is repeating an approach its competitor already tried out a month earlier.