How to use ChatGPT Work
Two things decide whether Work is useful to you: finding it on your surface, and writing a brief that names the finish line. Everything else is detail.
VERIFIED 2026-08-23 · OPENAI HELP CENTERStart on desktop
The desktop app is the fuller version — it is the only surface that can reach local files.
- Open the ChatGPT desktop app and sign in.
- Select ChatGPT or Codex from the top-left menu.
- If you selected ChatGPT, choose Work from the toggle at the top of the page.
- Start a new chat, or open an existing project. From a project, choosing Work starts a Work chat that carries the project's context. In Work you can also open a local folder.
- Describe the outcome you want. Add the files, constraints and review criteria it should use.
- Review the result, then ask for changes or follow-up work in the same chat.
Start on web or mobile
- Open ChatGPT on the web or in the mobile app and select Work.
- Start a new chat, or open an existing project.
- Add any files and context it should use, then describe the task or deliverable you want completed.
Work on web and mobile runs in the cloud and cannot reach files on your computer. Upload what it needs, or move to the desktop app.
Write the brief like you are handing work to a new hire
A weak prompt produces a wall of text. A brief produces a file. Four things, every time:
| Element | Weak | Works |
|---|---|---|
| Outcome | "Help me with a presentation" | "A 10-slide deck, one chart per slide" |
| Context | "About our Q3 numbers" | "Using the attached Q3 export and last quarter's deck as the template" |
| Format | — | ".pptx, our existing title/body layout, no animation" |
| Constraints | — | "Finance audience. Flag any figure you had to infer. Do not invent benchmarks." |
The single highest-value line you can add is the review criterion — how you will judge the output. It is what turns a second pass into a small correction instead of a restart.
Keep work moving without you
Projects
A project keeps related chats, files and instructions together. Your existing ChatGPT Projects appear under Projects; from one, choosing Work starts a Work chat that already has the project's context. On desktop, Chat and Work chats appear together in Recents where you can sort, filter and pin them.
Scheduled tasks
Work can run once, repeat on a schedule or a trigger, or monitor for changes. While a task runs you can review progress, answer its questions, change direction, and approve important actions.
Voice
On the desktop app for macOS and Windows, eligible accounts can talk to Work or Codex: select the Voice control, allow microphone access, and speak. You can interrupt naturally and ask it to start or coordinate tasks. Only one Voice conversation runs at a time, and connected Voice time is metered separately where flexible pricing applies.
Where it syncs
| Chat type | Syncs to |
|---|---|
| Cloud Work chats | Web, mobile and desktop — start on one, continue on another. |
| Local Work chats | Stay on the computer they were started on. |
| Chat conversations | Web and the desktop app. |
| Codex chats | Separate history; reachable from the mobile Remote tab. |