SAN FRANCISCO, April 16, 2026, 11:32 PDT
OpenAI on Thursday launched a sweeping Codex upgrade, giving the desktop app the ability to steer Mac software with its own cursor. There’s also a built-in browser now, plus image generation, memory, and a batch of automation features that expand Codex well past just code-writing. The rollout starts today for Codex desktop users logged in with ChatGPT. OpenAI says weekly Codex users top 3 million developers.
This release stands out as the most explicit indication yet of OpenAI’s ambitions to build Codex into a desktop “superapp” that pulls in ChatGPT and the Atlas browser under one roof. “We realised we were spreading our efforts across too many apps and stacks,” chief of applications Fidji Simo wrote in an internal note, according to the Wall Street Journal and confirmed by OpenAI, Reuters reported. Reuters
Codex chief Thibault Sottiaux, speaking at Thursday’s press briefing, framed the launch as part of the company’s push toward a “super app.” “We’re building the super app out in the open,” Sottiaux told reporters. For now, he emphasized, “this release is about developers,” while a broader rollout is planned for later. Engadget
OpenAI says Codex is now capable of “computer use”—meaning it can view what’s on a user’s screen, click around, and type within apps. That lets it handle native Mac applications or interact with tools lacking an API, the standard connector for apps. Also new: a basic browser, able to open local files or public web pages (no login allowed), where users can add comments straight onto the site and relay those notes to the agent. OpenAI Developers
The update brings a lot more to the table. Codex now integrates OpenAI’s gpt-image-1.5 image model right in the app, lets users juggle multiple terminal tabs, remembers user preferences and repeat workflows, and previews files—PDFs and spreadsheets included—in a sidebar. Over 90 new plugins are rolling out alongside these changes. Still, some personalization options and computer control features are off-limits for EU and UK users at launch, according to OpenAI, as reported by MacRumors.
There’s already data showing Codex users weren’t sticking to code. According to MacStories, roughly half of them had shifted the tool toward non-coding tasks, a trend spotted after a company demo. That’s a big part of why OpenAI is taking Codex beyond just a developer’s console and aiming it at general desktop workflows.
Timing matters here. Back in February, Reuters pointed out Anthropic’s lead in the AI coding scene thanks to Claude Code. On Thursday, The Verge framed the new Codex bundle as a clear move against that dominance, with more coding tasks shifting to AI.
There’s a hitch. The more OpenAI encourages users to hand over files, apps, and workflow details to Codex, the more it opens itself up to scrutiny around who can access what—and whether the software can be fully trusted. That point came into sharp focus last week after OpenAI revealed a third-party developer tool compromise related to the way its macOS apps are signed. Still, the company said it turned up no signs user data had been breached or any software had been tampered with.
