Codex is OpenAI's agent that does the work instead of talking about it. It now lives inside the ChatGPT desktop app, can work with your files and operate other apps, and comes with every ChatGPT plan. Plenty of teams that pay for ChatGPT have never opened it. We set it up, fence it in and train your people.
The short answer: Codex is OpenAI's AI agent. You give it a job, it works through the steps on its own, and it shows you the result. It started as a coding tool. It has grown into a general work assistant.
Where it lives: the ChatGPT desktop app has three modes side by side. Chat is the conversation you know. Work builds documents, spreadsheets and reports. Codex is the agent that can work with files, run tasks and operate apps.
Developers can also run it from a command line, inside code editors, in the cloud or on mobile, and connect it to GitHub, Slack, Linear and GitLab (in beta), according to OpenAI's docs.
"If your team already pays for ChatGPT, you already own Codex. The gap is not the software. It is knowing what to point it at and how to keep it on a short leash."
We set up both Codex and Claude Code. We will tell you honestly which one fits your business, and sometimes the answer is the one you already pay for.
A regular chat gives you an answer to copy and paste. Codex does the steps itself.
Point it at a folder of invoices, forms or notes and it reads, sorts and rewrites them into something useful.
With computer use, it can click and type through apps on Mac and Windows, asking permission for each one first.
It can work in a browser to gather information from supplier portals and websites that have no other way in.
A quote calculator, an internal checklist page, a script that tidies a weekly export. Sized to your business.
GitHub, Slack, Linear and GitLab connections are built in. Other systems can be wired in during setup.
Cloud tasks keep going while you do something else, and you review the result when it is done.
Codex and ChatGPT Work are included in every ChatGPT plan, according to OpenAI's pricing page. Prices are in US dollars, as listed on October 27, 2026.
| Plan | Price | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | Trying it out |
| Go | $8 / month | Light personal use |
| Plus | $20 / month | A solo owner or one power user |
| Business | $20 / user / month yearly, or $25 monthly (2+ users) | Most small teams. Admin controls and shared workspace |
| Pro | $100, $200 or $500 / month | Heavy daily users. No five-hour usage limit at the moment |
| Enterprise / Edu | Contact OpenAI | Larger organizations |
Codex can also run on a pay-as-you-go API key, which skips cloud features like GitHub code review and Slack. We size the plan to your real usage during the audit.
GPT-6.1 Sol is OpenAI's stronger model and became the default in Codex in early October, per the Codex changelog. Use it for complex jobs: long documents, tricky analysis, anything where getting it right matters more than speed.
GPT-6.1 Terra arrived in Codex and ChatGPT Work on October 26, 2026. It is the cheaper, faster model, built for everyday office tasks and for operating apps. OpenAI says it finishes tasks more than three times faster than its bigger models (OpenAI's own testing).
Our default: start on Terra for routine, repetitive work and switch to Sol when a task needs more thought. On paid plans, usage limits stretch further on the lighter model.
We broke down the Terra launch in plain English in GPT-6.1 Terra: what it means for your business.
Practical, low-risk jobs first. The kind of work someone on your team does by hand every week.
A folder of invoices, receipts or intake forms becomes one clean spreadsheet, ready for a person to check and file.
Order status and pricing pulled from portals that have no integration, then tidied into your own format each morning.
A job checklist page, a materials calculator or a simple quote form, built without hiring a web developer.
Sort, rename and summarize document sets so a professional starts their review from an organized folder, not a pile.
One to four weeks depending on how many workflows you want running.
Free 30-minute call. We find the two or three jobs where Codex saves the most time, and check whether Claude Code would fit better.
Right plan, admin settings, separate limited logins for the AI, and a clear list of what it is and is not allowed to touch.
We write the reusable prompts and small tools so your team runs a job with one click instead of starting from a blank box.
Live training on your real work, plain-English notes, and a 30-day support window.
Plan, install, first task and guardrails. A step-by-step for business owners who have never used it.
Read more → GuideHow ChatGPT operates apps on your computer, what can go wrong, and the safe way to start.
Read more → ComparisonWhich one should your business use? An honest comparison. Most SMBs should pick one, and we will tell you which.
Read more →Latest Codex news lives on the Maple AI blog, updated weekly. Start with every Codex update from October 2026.
Book a free 30-minute audit. We will look at how your team works, tell you whether Codex or Claude Code is the better fit, and what we would set up first.