OpenAI has rolled out a major update to its Codex desktop app, expanding it from a coding assistant into a broader AI workspace that can actively participate in everyday tasks across a computer.
In its announcement, the company said the goal is to make Codex “a more powerful partner for the more than 3 million developers who use it every week to accelerate work across the full software development lifecycle.” The update introduces new capabilities that allow the tool to go beyond programming and into general productivity, creative work, and long-running automation.
The most impressive new feature is “computer use.” Unlike traditional software that requires an API to communicate with other apps, Codex can now see the screen and interact with apps just as a human would.
“With background computer use, Codex can now use all of the apps on your computer by seeing, clicking, and typing with its own cursor,” the company wrote.
Parallel agents and background workflows
Crucially, this isn’t just a screen-recording bot. OpenAI notes that “Multiple agents can work on your Mac in parallel, without interfering with your own work in other apps.” This means you could be typing an email while Codex is in the background, testing a website, or organizing your files.
While the tool is still aimed at the 3 million developers who use it weekly, the roadmap clearly leads toward a more general consumer “super-app.” This isn’t just speculation from industry observers; OpenAI’s own team is being quite open about the strategy.
In a media briefing, Codex lead Thibault Sottiaux stated, “We’re actually doing the sneaky thing where we’re building the super app out in the open and evolving it out of Codex,” according to Ars Technica.
To support this evolution, the update includes an in-app browser that lets users leave comments directly on web pages to instruct the AI. It also integrates gpt-image-1.5, allowing the app to generate and iterate on visuals for mockups or games within the same workspace.
Persistence and memory
To make the AI feel more useful to users, OpenAI has added “memory” and scheduling. Codex can now remember your personal preferences and previous corrections. It can also schedule work for itself, waking up days later to finish a long-term task.
When you start your day, Codex might proactively suggest where to begin. For example, it can look at Google Docs comments, pull context from Slack and Notion, and hand you a prioritized to-do list.
The update is rolling out now to Codex desktop users signed in with ChatGPT. Personalization features, including memory and context-aware suggestions, will reach Enterprise, Education, and EU and UK users soon. Computer use is currently macOS-only, with the EU and UK rollout to follow.
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