OpenAI’s Codex Gets a Major Upgrade: A Glimpse Into the “Super App” Future
OpenAI is rolling out a significant update to its Codex desktop application today, introducing a suite of powerful new features that hint at the company’s larger vision: a unified “super app” combining ChatGPT, Codex, and its Atlas web browser.
Background Computer Use: AI That Works Alongside You
The headline feature is background computer use—Codex can now autonomously control your PC, seeing, clicking, and typing across all your applications without interfering with your own work. Multiple AI agents can operate in parallel on macOS, each handling separate tasks.
“With background computer use, Codex can now use all of the apps on your computer by seeing, clicking, and typing with its own cursor,” OpenAI explained. “Multiple agents can work on your Mac in parallel, without interfering with your own work in other apps.”
While competitors like Claude offer similar capabilities, OpenAI claims its “secret sauce” lies in execution—keeping the system responsive so your PC remains usable while Codex works in the background.
Task Scheduling and Proactive Assistance
Codex can now schedule work days, weeks, or even months in advance, automatically waking itself to execute tasks at the designated time. The app is also becoming more proactive, using memory features to recall previous tasks and suggest next steps—like reminding you to respond to a colleague’s Google Doc comment at the start of your day.
Built-In Browser with Collaborative Feedback
A new in-app web browser lets you monitor Codex’s progress in real-time and provide targeted feedback. Using an annotation system similar to design collaboration tools, you can comment directly on page elements with specific instructions. In one demo, a team member instructed Codex to adjust graph margins to prevent axis cutoff—a simple but practical example of human-AI collaboration.
Image Generation and Enhanced Developer Tools
Codex now integrates gpt-4o-mini-1.5 for image generation, enabling it to create mockups, UI designs, and game assets. Combined with screenshot verification, this allows Codex to self-correct and ensure outputs match your vision.
For developers specifically, the update adds:
- Multi-terminal support
- GitHub review comment integration
- 111 new plugins expanding workflows across development and general knowledge work
Building the “Super App” in the Open
The unifying theme behind these disparate features is OpenAI’s ambitious “super app” strategy. Last month, The Wall Street Journal reported that OpenAI is developing a unified desktop application merging ChatGPT, Codex, and Atlas. Today’s release isn’t that app—yet—but it’s a major steppingstone.
“We’re actually doing the sneaky thing where we’re building the super app out in the open and evolving it out of Codex,” said Thibault Sottiaux, head of Codex, during a media briefing. “This release is about developers. In the future, we will broaden it up to a wider audience.”
Availability and Rollout
The updated Codex is now rolling out to macOS users logged into their ChatGPT accounts. Computer use and memory features are initially available in the US, with EU and UK access coming soon.
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