ChatGPT is merging Chat and Work. The bigger change is one usage limit for ChatGPT and Codex.

OpenAI is folding the Work tab in ChatGPT into Chat. In an email to subscribers, reported by BleepingComputer on November 1 and by TechCrunch on November 2, the company said it will test a combined Chat and Work experience in the coming weeks, starting with a small group of users. Codex stays a separate section of the ChatGPT desktop app.

The part that affects what you get for your money is the usage limit. ChatGPT and Codex will draw from one shared allowance, and OpenAI's help article on usage limits says Plus, Pro and Business plans move to it in December. If you lean on ChatGPT Work or Codex, your limits will be counted differently from next month.

What OpenAI has confirmed

The details below come from the email, as quoted by BleepingComputer and TechCrunch, and from the help article, as quoted by Notebookcheck.

• One place for chat and agent work: "This will enable you to move from exploring an idea to having ChatGPT carry it through, all in one place," the email says. You will be able to bring in files and plugins and ask ChatGPT to build a website, make a presentation or act on the web without first picking Chat or Work.
• Codex stays separate: "Codex will remain a separate experience in the ChatGPT desktop app."
• One allowance: "Your use of ChatGPT and Codex will draw from the same allowance." The help article says this starts in December for Plus, Pro and Business, with usage measured in tokens. OpenAI has not given an exact start date.
• Instant chat is excluded: "Instant chat will not draw from your usage." More advanced models and complex agent tasks use more of the allowance than simple requests.
• Where to check: combined remaining usage and reset times will appear under Settings, then Usage. When you run out, you can wait for the reset, upgrade, or buy credits for eligible features.
• Expected impact: OpenAI says it expects the majority of subscribers will not wait for resets more often than they do now, though TechCrunch reports the email warns that some may, depending on usage and model.

The email follows a separate change on October 29. Thibault Sottiaux, who leads ChatGPT and Codex at OpenAI, said on X that OpenAI was doubling usage limits for the Pro $100, $200 and $500 tiers and Business Premium seats, mainly for Work and Codex, according to Android Authority. Sottiaux also said OpenAI would not go ahead with a planned cut to Pro 200 limits. OpenAI has not published the new limits as numbers, and BleepingComputer's report gives no end date for the increase.

What is still unclear

• Allowance size: OpenAI has not said how large the shared allowance is on each plan or how often it resets.
• Free and Go: Notebookcheck notes the help article does not mention the Free or Go plans, which run GPT-6 Luna. Whether they get a shared pool is unknown.
• Rollout: the combined Chat and Work view goes to a test group first. OpenAI has not said when everyone gets it.
• Today's split: reports differ on how limits are divided right now. Some describe separate counters for Chat, Work and Codex, others say Work and Codex already share one. They agree that from December one allowance covers everything except Instant chat.
• Images, voice and uploads: these have had their own caps. OpenAI has not said whether they stay separate.

Not everyone is happy. A thread on OpenAI's community forum asking the company to keep ChatGPT and Codex limits separate was opened on October 31 and had passed 100 posts by November 3, according to Notebookcheck.

How this compares with Claude

Anthropic made the same product move in September, when it merged Chat and Cowork in Claude so that Claude decides whether a request needs a quick answer or a multi-step task, as TechCrunch notes. Claude Code keeps its own tab, as Codex will. On limits, Anthropic's help article says "Everything you do with Claude counts toward your plan's usage limits," with agent tasks using more than quick questions.

From December, both companies will meter chat, agent work and coding from one plan allowance. The difference on paper is that OpenAI keeps Instant chat outside the meter. On price, the entry tiers match: ChatGPT Plus and Claude Pro are both $20 per month. Above that, ChatGPT Pro comes in $100, $200 and $500 tiers, while Claude offers Max at $100 and Ultra at $200 per month, according to Anthropic's pricing page.

What this means for you

• If you mostly chat: little changes. Instant chats stay outside the allowance, and the merged view removes the choice between two tabs.
• If you use Plus for both ChatGPT and Codex: you are the most likely to notice. From December, a long Codex session and a long Work task come out of the same pool. Watch Settings, then Usage, through your first December billing cycle before you decide whether Pro is worth $100 a month.
• If you are on Pro: the October 29 doubling gives you more room going into the change. Note your usage now so you can tell whether December feels different.
• If you code every day: this is a good moment to compare Codex with Claude Code on the same plan budget. Our ChatGPT vs Claude Code and ChatGPT vs Claude comparisons cover the differences.
• If you manage a Business workspace: Business is named in the help article. Ask heavy Codex users to check their usage page in December so nobody is caught out mid-task.

The merged tab is a convenience change. The shared allowance is a pricing change, even though the list prices stay the same. Until OpenAI publishes the size of each plan's pool, the only reliable guide is your own usage page.

Sources: TechCrunch, BleepingComputer, OpenAI Help Center, Notebookcheck, Android Authority, Claude Help Center.