OpenAI will merge ChatGPT's Chat and Work tabs in December

OpenAI will merge ChatGPT's Chat and Work tabs starting in December, according to a post on OpenAI's website and an email to current users reported by TechCrunch. The change folds the agentic capabilities of the Work tab into the main ChatGPT experience and puts ChatGPT and Codex usage on a single shared token allowance for Plus, Pro, and Business plans.

"Starting in December, Plus, Pro, and Business plans' usage allowance will be shared across ChatGPT and Codex as we bring the agentic capabilities of Work into the main ChatGPT experience," OpenAI wrote in a note entitled "Understanding ChatGPT and Codex usage limits."

Why is OpenAI merging the two tabs?

The current structure of the ChatGPT desktop app is not especially easy to navigate, and OpenAI is looking to change that. The app features a ChatGPT section and a Codex section. Within the ChatGPT section, users find two separate tabs: Chat and Work.

The merger collapses that split. In an email to current users, OpenAI described what the integrated experience will do:

"This will enable you to move from exploring an idea to having ChatGPT carry it through, all in one place. You can bring in your files and plugins and ask ChatGPT to build a website, create a presentation, or do things for you on the web, while reviewing and guiding its work. Codex will remain a separate experience in the ChatGPT desktop app," the email said.

The last point matters for users who rely on the coding tool: Codex will not disappear into the chat window. It stays a separate experience inside the desktop app, even as its usage draws from the same allowance pool as ChatGPT.

How will usage limits change?

The transition will allow both ChatGPT and Codex to draw tokens from the same allowance pool. OpenAI framed this as a simplification, but it introduces a single budget for two products that previously had separate accounting.

"Your usage for ChatGPT and Codex will be measured in tokens, the units of information a model processes and generates. How much of your allowance you use will depend on the model you choose and the task you ask it to do. More advanced models and complex tasks generally use more of your allowance. Instant chat will not draw from your usage," OpenAI said in the online note.

The key variables, as OpenAI describes them:

• One shared pool. Plus, Pro, and Business plans will have a single allowance covering both ChatGPT and Codex from December.
• Model and task determine burn rate. More advanced models and more complex tasks consume more of the allowance.
• One exception. Instant chat will not draw from the usage allowance at all.

OpenAI anticipates that most users will not be affected. The company acknowledges, however, that outcomes depend on individual behavior. Depending on usage and model, some users may need to wait for resets more than usual — effectively hitting their limits sooner than they did under separate allowances.

What is OpenAI saying about disruption?

OpenAI said it does not expect the change to disrupt users' current experience. The company's public statements stress preparation over reassurance alone.

"We're preparing carefully for this transition to help prevent disruption to your workflows. We expect most users won't need to wait for their usage to reset more often than they do now," OpenAI said.

That phrasing leaves room. OpenAI expects most users to see no change in reset frequency, which implies the company cannot rule out that some will — specifically those whose combined ChatGPT and Codex consumption exceeds what either product consumed alone.

How will the rollout happen?

The integrated experience will not arrive for everyone at once. According to the email to current users, confirmed by TechCrunch, the merged experience will be made available to select users for feedback before it is rolled out more widely.

That staged approach gives OpenAI a window to measure how the merged interface and the shared allowance behave in practice before the December change reaches the full subscriber base.

Who else is doing this?

OpenAI is not the first AI developer to collapse a chat interface and an agentic working mode into one screen. In September, rival Anthropic merged Claude's chat and Cowork functions into a single screen.

The parallel is direct. Both companies built separate surfaces for conversation and for task execution — having the model build, browse, and produce deliverables — and both concluded that the split confused users more than it helped. Anthropic moved first; OpenAI's December change follows the same logic for ChatGPT.

Why does this matter?

The merger is a product-simplification move with real budget consequences. Subscribers who use ChatGPT and Codex in the same month will now draw from one allowance rather than two separate ones, and heavy users of advanced models on complex tasks will see their pooled budget deplete fastest. For teams on Business plans that built workflows around both tools, the December reset is the date to watch.

ZDNET, which first reported the details, notes a disclosure relevant to its coverage: Ziff Davis, ZDNET's parent company, filed an April 2025 lawsuit against OpenAI alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.

The staged rollout means the first real-world data on how the shared allowance holds up will come from the select users who test the merged experience before the December deployment — and their feedback will determine whether OpenAI's prediction that most users will not be affected holds.