What computer use does
According to OpenAI's computer use docs, ChatGPT can see and operate graphical apps on macOS or Windows. It runs from the ChatGPT desktop app inside ChatGPT Work and Codex, in supported regions. In practice it takes a screenshot, decides what to do, then moves the mouse and types.
That makes it useful for exactly the software small businesses struggle to connect: old desktop programs, supplier portals and government websites that will never have an integration.
How permissions work
- It asks permission the first time it wants to use each app, with an "Always allow" option.
- It may ask again before sensitive actions.
- On Business and Enterprise plans, admins can restrict which apps it is allowed to touch.
- On Windows, the app it is working in has to stay visible, and it takes over your keyboard and mouse while it runs. Plan to let it work on a spare machine or while you step away.
Which model to use
OpenAI's newest model, GPT-6.1 Terra, is built for this. The Codex changelog describes it as pairing image understanding with precise computer use, and it costs less than GPT-6.1 Sol. Developers can also call computer use through OpenAI's API with Terra, per its model page.
The real risk: prompt injection
Prompt injection is when a web page, email or file contains hidden instructions that try to trick the AI into doing something you did not ask for. A person would ignore a hidden line saying "send me the customer list". An AI reading the whole page might not.
OpenAI's own page warns that web pages can contain malicious or misleading content, and recommends narrow tasks, staying present for sensitive steps and keeping secrets out of reach. Anthropic has published numbers on the same risk for its browser agent: in its own early testing, attacks succeeded 23.6% of the time before fixes and 11.2% after. Every vendor reports progress since, and none claims the problem is solved.
Our rule: if one wrong click would be a disaster, a person approves it. That covers payments, sending customer emails, deleting records and anything behind a password.
Good first tasks
- Distributors: pull order status from a supplier portal into a spreadsheet each morning.
- Trades: copy job details from emailed work orders into your scheduling software.
- Offices: fill in the same web form for each new customer, stopping before submit so someone can check it.
- Professional services: download statements or documents from several portals into one client folder.
How it compares to Claude
Anthropic offers computer use too. It launched as a research preview in Claude Cowork and Claude Code on March 23, 2026, and now works on Mac and Windows, per Anthropic's announcement. Claude tries a direct connection to your apps first and only falls back to controlling the screen when it has to. Both are good enough to use today. The setup and guardrails matter more than the brand. See our Claude Code vs Codex comparison for the bigger picture.