OpenAI Introduces Workspace Agents: AI Assistants That Work Around the Clock for Business Teams

OpenAI has unveiled workspace agents for ChatGPT, a groundbreaking automation feature designed to handle complex business tasks continuously, even when employees are offline. The capability is now available in research preview across ChatGPT Business, Enterprise, Edu, and Teachers plans at no cost through May 6, 2026.

The tech company announced the new functionality on Wednesday, positioning workspace agents as an advancement beyond previously available custom GPTs. Built on OpenAI's Codex model, these autonomous assistants operate persistently in the cloud, connecting to external applications and maintaining institutional knowledge across multiple projects without requiring repeated user instructions.

How Workspace Agents Function

Users can establish an AI agent directly from ChatGPT by outlining their desired workflow. The platform then assists in structuring the process, integrating necessary tools, and validating agent performance. Once deployed, agents execute tasks either according to predetermined schedules or in response to designated events.

"Workspace agents are an evolution of GPTs," OpenAI stated. "Powered by Codex, they can take on many of the tasks people already do at work—from preparing reports, to writing code, to responding to messages. They run in the cloud, so they can keep working even when you're not."

Organizational Collaboration and Security

The agents are engineered for team-based workflows, enabling organizations to construct a single agent that multiple teams can utilize simultaneously through ChatGPT or Slack, refining its capabilities progressively.

"AI has already helped people work faster on their own, but many of the most important workflows inside an organization depend on shared context, handoffs, and decisions across teams," OpenAI explained. "Workspace agents are designed for that kind of work: they can gather context from the right systems, follow team processes, ask for approval when needed, and keep work moving across tools."

Addressing cybersecurity concerns, OpenAI emphasized that organizations can restrict agent access to specific data and tools, enforce human authorization for critical operations, and detect prompt injection attacks.

Market Context and Pricing

This launch arrives amid intensifying competition in autonomous AI development, with major corporations including Google, Microsoft, and Amazon allocating substantial capital toward agentic systems capable of operating independently with minimal human intervention.

The research preview remains complimentary until May 6, 2026, after which OpenAI will transition to a credit-based pricing structure. The company confirmed that its internal teams are already utilizing the technology and committed to maintaining GPTs as a separate offering, while making conversion to workspace agents straightforward for existing users.