Lesson overview
This lesson is a condensed version of my full one-hour GPT Work video.
You’ll learn:
- What GPT Work is
- How Work differs from Chat and Codex
- Why GPT Work is interesting
- How to give it a task
- Its 14 most important capabilities
Introduction
GPT Work is a new way to use ChatGPT for getting actual work done.
Instead of only asking questions and receiving answers, you can give GPT Work a larger task. It can research information, use connected tools, create files, and continue working until it produces a finished result.
To use it:
- Open ChatGPT.
- Switch from Chat to Work.
- Describe the result you want.
- Add any relevant files, context, or connected tools.
- Let GPT Work complete the task.
- Review the result and ask for changes.
What is GPT Work?
GPT Work is the agent mode inside ChatGPT.
An agent doesn’t only respond to a prompt. It can break a goal into steps, choose the tools it needs, perform the work, and create a finished deliverable.
You can use it to create:
- Presentations
- Reports
- Documents
- Spreadsheets
- Images
- Websites
- Research
- Automated workflows
Chat vs. Work vs. Codex
| Mode | Use it for |
|---|---|
| Chat | Questions, brainstorming, explanations, and quick help |
| Work | Multi-step business tasks and finished deliverables |
| Codex | Coding, repositories, terminals, tests, and technical work |
A simple way to remember the difference:
- Chat helps you think.
- Work helps you complete work.
- Codex helps you build software.
What makes GPT Work interesting?
GPT Work brings the agent capabilities that made Codex powerful into a product designed for everyday work.
You can give it a task, let it work for several minutes, and return to a completed document, presentation, spreadsheet, or website. It can also connect to your existing tools, run scheduled tasks, and continue cloud work across web, desktop, and mobile.
The important shift is that you’re no longer only chatting with AI. You’re delegating work to it.
How to give GPT Work a task
A strong task should include:
- Outcome: What should it create?
- Context: What information should it use?
- Tools: What apps, files, or websites does it need?
- Requirements: What should the result contain?
- Format: How should the finished work be delivered?
Example
Research the biggest AI-agent developments from the past month. Create a five-page beginner-friendly report with a timeline, comparison table, links to the original sources, and three practical recommendations. Deliver it as a polished PDF.
The 14 Capabilities of GPT Work
Create reports and documents
Switch from Chat to Work and describe the finished document you want, including the topic, format, research requirements, and visual style. GPT Work can research the subject and create presentations, DOCX files, PDFs, spreadsheets, and HTML documents that open inside ChatGPT. Open the result in the side panel and describe every change you want, just as you would give feedback to a coworker. You can continue revising the document from the web or mobile app, including making changes with your voice.
Connect plugins
Plugins connect GPT Work to external tools such as Gmail, Calendar, Google Drive, Notion, Canva, ClickUp, and GitHub. Open the Plugins menu, select the app you want, sign in, approve the connection, and review the skills included with that plugin. Once connected, GPT Work can move between tools, for example reading an email, updating a Notion page, and creating a calendar event. You can mention a specific plugin in your prompt, but GPT Work can often choose the correct plugin automatically.
Create blocks
Blocks are editable pieces of content that render directly inside a GPT Work conversation. Ask for an editable text block when you want to write, revise, or compare different versions of something without leaving the chat. GPT Work can also create Mermaid mind maps, flowcharts, sequence diagrams, charts, email drafts, and other visual or technical blocks. You can edit blocks manually, request AI changes, move between previous versions, and continue working with them from your phone.
Build and host websites and applications
Ask GPT Work to turn the information from your conversation into a website or mini application using the Sites feature. Describe what the site should contain, who it is for, and how the information should be displayed; GPT Work will build and deploy a shareable internal site. If you want the project on the public internet, connect a hosting plugin such as Vercel and ask GPT Work to deploy it there. You can then connect other tools, such as a domain provider, to give the website its own custom domain.
Generate and edit images
Upload an existing image or describe a new image you want GPT Work to create with GPT Image 2. When editing, clearly identify what should change and what must remain the same, and ask for multiple variations if you want options. You can also click specific areas of the image and leave targeted comments about details such as text, colors, clothing, lighting, or facial features. Once the images are finished, GPT Work can use a connected app like Gmail to attach them to a draft or send them to a collaborator.
Branch a chat
Branching lets you turn one conversation into multiple task-specific conversations without losing the original context. Type /branch chat when you reach the point where you want to explore a different direction, for example continuing to build a website in one chat while turning the same material into a PDF presentation in another. Rename each branch based on its task and use /pin to keep important conversations at the top. A useful rule is to give each branch one clear task or deliverable.
Choose between cloud and local GPT Work
On desktop, GPT Work can run either in the cloud or locally on your computer. Cloud Work behaves like the web and iOS versions: its conversations sync across devices, but it cannot directly access files or applications on your computer. Local Work can access permitted computer files, create or edit local files, use desktop applications, and access local skills shared with Codex, but that conversation stays on the computer. Choose cloud when you want cross-device access, and choose local when the task requires access to your computer.
Use Voice Mode
Start Voice Mode by selecting the voice button inside a new desktop Work conversation. You can speak naturally and ask GPT Work to search connected tools, open documents, edit Notion pages, organize information, or prepare drafts. Because Voice Mode can access the same plugins and skills available to the selected Work session, you can control larger workflows without typing every instruction. For sensitive actions, ask it to create and open a draft so you can review the result before anything is sent.
Control your computer from your iPhone
Open the Remote tab in the ChatGPT iOS app and connect it to the ChatGPT desktop app running on your computer. Start a real-time voice conversation and use it as a master thread that can create new GPT Work or Codex sessions for separate tasks. For example, you can ask it to research recent content in one session, prepare an email in another, and add an idea to Notion in a third. This allows you to start several pieces of work from your phone and return to your computer with drafts or completed research waiting for you.
Use the in-app browser
Open the browser panel inside the desktop app, or create another browser tab with the plus button or Command + T. When the browser is signed into your accounts, local GPT Work can navigate websites, open documents, prepare drafts, and operate through the interfaces you already use. Ask it to open the tabs required for a task so the conversation and its relevant browser pages remain together. You can also right-click a link and choose Open in browser when GPT Work creates a document or finds a page you want to inspect.
Create skills
Skills are reusable instruction files that teach GPT Work how to perform a specific workflow. A skill might explain how to create your preferred YouTube thumbnail, add an idea to a Notion database, or format a recurring report. Local skills created for Codex are available to local GPT Work, while cloud skills must be created in cloud Work if you want to use them from the web or your phone. Decide where you need the skill first, then create it in the corresponding local or cloud environment.
Schedule future work
GPT Work can perform a task later, repeat it on a schedule, or periodically check for a change. For example, after sending an important email, you can ask cloud Work to check every hour for a response, add the response to a Notion page, and notify the appropriate person. Include the start time, frequency, end date, condition to watch for, and action it should take when that condition occurs. Use cloud Work for these automations when they need to continue running after your computer is closed.
Create spreadsheets
Give GPT Work a research question, the companies or data you want compared, and the analysis the spreadsheet should contain. It can research the information and create a workbook with source data, checks, historical financials, strategic comparisons, dashboards, and charts. Open the spreadsheet and request edits such as adding a cover sheet, changing the visual style, or creating a recommendation dashboard. If you have Google Drive connected, you can ask GPT Work to convert the completed file into a Google Sheet and open it for you.
Run multiple tasks at once
GPT Work allows you to run several long tasks in parallel instead of waiting for each one to finish. Open separate cloud Work or Codex sessions for independent tasks, minimize them into a workspace view, and switch between them as progress arrives. Double-click a task when you want to focus on it, then return it to the smaller view while another agent continues working. This makes it possible to research an email, write an introduction, generate a chart, and prepare a browser task at the same time.
Practice exercise
Ask GPT Work to complete this task:
Research three competitors in my industry and create a one-page competitive brief. Include a comparison table, five important insights, three recommendations, and links to every source.
When it finishes:
- Review its research.
- Correct anything inaccurate.
- Request one content revision.
- Request one design revision.
- Export the final deliverable.
Key takeaway
Start with a real task you already understand and perform regularly.
Use Chat when you need an answer. Use Work when you need a finished result. Use Codex when the task primarily involves software development.