OpenAI workspace agents

OpenAI on April 22 rolled out workspace agents in ChatGPT, turning custom GPTs into shared automations that can keep working after a user logs off. (openai.com) The company said the agents are powered by Codex, run in the cloud, and can handle multi-step work such as preparing reports, writing code, and responding to messages. OpenAI said teams can use them inside ChatGPT or Slack. (openai.com) OpenAI’s business site says workspace agents connect to enterprise tools including Slack, Google Drive, Microsoft SharePoint, and Google Calendar, with governance and admin controls layered on top. A Help Center release note says eligible workspaces can build agents from templates or from scratch, preview them before publishing, and schedule them to run automatically. (openai.com) (help.openai.com) An agent is software that can plan steps, use tools, and keep state across a longer job instead of answering one prompt at a time. OpenAI’s developer docs describe agents as applications that call tools, collaborate across specialists, and retain enough context to complete multi-step work. (developers.openai.com) That makes this launch a product shift inside ChatGPT itself: OpenAI said workspace agents are “an evolution of GPTs,” the custom assistants users already build for narrow tasks. The company also said teams can build an agent once, share it across an organization, and improve it over time. (openai.com) The release extends OpenAI’s push from chat into background execution. In July 2025, OpenAI introduced ChatGPT agent for guided tasks using its own computer, and in May 2025 it introduced Codex as a cloud-based software engineering agent that could work on many tasks in parallel. (openai.com 1) (openai.com 2) OpenAI has been building the developer plumbing for that model as well. On April 15, 2026, it updated the Agents Software Development Kit with native sandbox execution and a model-native harness for long-running agents that work across files and tools. (openai.com) The company is also tying the feature to its workplace sales pitch. OpenAI’s business page says ChatGPT Business includes custom workspace GPTs and access to shareable workspace agents that run workflows across connected tools. (openai.com) The immediate question is how much work companies will trust these agents to do without constant review. OpenAI said the agents operate within organizational permissions and controls, framing them less as solo chatbots and more as software workers that sit inside a company’s existing systems. (openai.com)