OpenAI launches ChatGPT Work, an autonomous agent for hours-long enterprise tasks

Powered by the newly released GPT-5.6, the cloud-based agent handles multi-step workflows across Gmail, Slack, Calendar, and GitHub — and takes direct aim at Anthropic's Claude Cowork ahead of dueling IPOs.

OpenAI launched ChatGPT Work on Thursday, an autonomous agent that runs multi-step office tasks for hours on a persistent cloud virtual machine, and released the frontier model powering it, GPT-5.6, the same day. The pairing is the clearest statement yet that the enterprise seat, not the consumer subscription, is now the battlefield.

The agent connects to Gmail, Google Calendar, Slack, and GitHub through plugins “all based on MCP,” according to product manager Ty Geri, and combines the chatbot with OpenAI’s Codex tool to produce documents, spreadsheets, presentations, reports, and hosted websites. Because it lives on OpenAI’s servers rather than a local machine, it keeps working while the user’s laptop is closed, a design departure from earlier agents. Rollout begins with Pro, Enterprise, and Edu subscribers, with Plus and Business tiers to follow.

Reuters framed the launch as “a direct answer to Anthropic’s Claude Cowork,” which shipped in January, with OpenAI officials promising something “cheaper and more broadly available.” That framing matters because Anthropic filed for its IPO on June 1 at a $965 billion valuation, setting up dueling listings between the two labs.

GPT-5.6 ships in three sizes (Sol, Luna, Terra), tuned respectively for capability, speed, and everyday balance. Sam Altman told CNBC the model is “54% more token efficient on agentic coding,” and offered the tell of the quarter: “Every enterprise now is thinking about spend and the value they’re getting in exchange for AI.” Reuters and Axios reported the debut had been delayed at the request of the Trump administration.

The economic picture behind the release is what gives it weight. OpenAI told VentureBeat it’s generating $2 billion in monthly revenue, with enterprise already above 40% of the mix and on track for parity with consumer by year-end. It also projects roughly $14 billion in losses for 2026 and no profitability until around 2030. ChatGPT Work isn’t a feature release. It’s the argument OpenAI needs to make to justify that curve to public markets that’ll soon be scoring both labs against each other in real time.

OpenAI launches ChatGPT Work, an autonomous agent for hours-long enterprise tasks

Sources