OpenAI extends Codex with productivity tools for nontechnical users
OpenAI Group PBC today released a set of features that will make it easier for nontechnical people to use its Codex automation tool.
The update comes five months after Anthropic PBC added similar capabilities to Claude Cowork.
Codex launched last April as a programming assistant embedded in the ChatGPT interface. It ran on codex-1, a version of OpenAI’s o3 reasoning model optimized for coding tasks. The company equipped the former algorithm with features that block attempts to generate malware and reduce the risk of programming mistakes.
The tool took off when OpenAI made it available through a standalone desktop app this past February. The tool’s installed base has grown sixfold since the launch to more than 5 million weekly users. Nondevelopers, the focus of today’s product update, currently make up about 20% of that installed base and represent one of its fastest-growing segments.
