---
title: "Navigate Chat, Work, and Codex"
description: "You can find Chat, Work, and Codex in the desktop app and choose among them from the result you need and the amount of technical control you want."
reviewedOn: 2026-09-08
sourceRefs: [evidence-lab-methodology]
---

## Result

You can find Chat, Work, and Codex in the desktop app and choose among them from the result you need and the amount of technical control you want.

## Selection guidance

### Include when

Use this module when the three names seem interchangeable, you cannot find their controls, or you route every request to the same surface by habit.

### Skip when

Skip it when you can independently route representative conversational, deliverable, and technically controlled tasks and explain each choice.

## Prerequisites

You are signed in to ChatGPT Desktop and have recorded which surfaces are available. Missing options do not prevent learning the decision model; mark them as unavailable in the current account.

## Explanation

The desktop hierarchy has two levels:

1. The product selector switches between **ChatGPT** and **Codex**.
2. Inside ChatGPT, the switcher above the composer chooses **Chat** or **Work**.

Use the surfaces this way:

| Surface | Start here when you want | Typical result |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Chat | A question, explanation, brainstorm, comparison, or short draft | A conversational answer you refine through dialogue |
| Work | A larger task carried through to a reviewable result | A brief, analysis, presentation, spreadsheet, plan, workflow, or other finished output |
| Codex | The same broad class of agentic work with developer views or more technical detail and environment control | Knowledge-work files, software changes, tests, technical reviews, or automated project work |

Work and Codex overlap. Codex is not limited to programming: official OpenAI documentation explicitly allows research, documents, presentations, and other knowledge work in Codex. Work can also run code and shell commands when the selected environment and controls allow them. The practical distinction is the interface and degree of technical visibility, not a rigid list of permitted file types.

## Actions

1. Select **ChatGPT** in the product selector.
2. Start a new chat and locate the **Chat / Work** switcher above the composer.
3. Choose **Chat** and enter a small conversational question, such as asking for two ways to structure a meeting note. Do not request a file.
4. Start another chat, choose **Work**, and observe how the interface is prepared for a task with a completed outcome.
5. Select **Codex** in the product selector. Locate **New chat**. If **Quick chat** is available beside it, note that it opens an ordinary ChatGPT conversation from the Codex interface.
6. Complete the decision table below for three sample tasks:
   - clarify the meaning of an unfamiliar term;
   - create a cited comparison table from three source files;
   - update files in a local project and inspect the exact changes.
7. For each task, record the chosen surface, expected result, and why additional technical detail is or is not useful.

## Practice

Choose Chat, Work, or Codex for each task and explain your decision:

- Discuss several possible research questions before selecting one.
- Produce an eight-slide presentation from supplied notes.
- Produce the same presentation while also inspecting the source files, generated assets, commands, and project changes.
- Review a repository change and decide what to stage or revert.

More than one surface may be capable of the task. Your answer is successful when the choice matches the desired experience and control.

## Deliverables

- A completed Chat, Work, and Codex decision table.
- Three routed sample tasks with a short reason for each choice.

## Check

- You find Chat and Work under ChatGPT and select Codex from the product selector.
- You route a conversational question to Chat, a finished deliverable to Work, and a task needing developer views or deeper environment control to Codex.
- You do not describe Codex as programming-only or Work as incapable of technical work.
- You state that availability can vary by plan, platform, region, rollout, and workspace settings.

## If it fails

- **Three equal tabs are expected.** Use the two-level hierarchy: ChatGPT or Codex first, then Chat or Work inside ChatGPT.
- **Codex is treated as a code-only surface.** Recheck the official comparison: Codex can continue research, document, presentation, and other knowledge work.
- **Work is treated as a basic chat.** Work is for a task with a defined outcome that ChatGPT carries through to review.
- **One surface is missing.** Keep the conceptual routing exercise and record the current availability gap.

## Sources and verification

Sources: `openai.chatgpt.desktop-app`, `openai.chatgpt.quickstart`, `openai.chatgpt.use-chatgpt`, `openai.chatgpt.work`.

The interface hierarchy and Work/Codex comparison were checked against official OpenAI documentation on 8 September 2026. Labels and availability may change. The exercise has not yet been field-validated with a learner.

**Next:** [Use projects, files, and tools](/en/onboarding/use-projects-files-and-tools/).