The ChatGPT Classic app will retire on January 30, 2027, as per the latest update from OpenAI. Anyone still using it can move to the new ChatGPT desktop app, and OpenAI says the full chat history carries over.
OpenAI is also preparing a merged Chat and Work experience, which it will test with a small group of users in the coming weeks. A shared usage allowance for ChatGPT and Codex will replace their separate limits.
ChatGPT Classic app users have until January 30 to switch
OpenAI renamed the previous desktop app ChatGPT Classic on July 9, when the Codex app merged into ChatGPT and Chat, Work and Codex moved into one app for Mac and Windows. OpenAI did not require a migration at launch, but Work and Codex are not part of ChatGPT Classic.
You can download the new ChatGPT desktop app for macOS or Windows now, and it is available on every ChatGPT plan, including Free. Your chats belong to your OpenAI account, so the new app shows the same conversations you had in ChatGPT Classic.
OpenAI will test a merged Chat and Work experience in the coming weeks
The test starts with a small group of users, who will get ChatGPT’s conversation and Work’s longer task features in one interface. You can bring in your files and plugins and ask ChatGPT to build a website or a presentation while you review its work. OpenAI frames it as going from exploring an idea to having ChatGPT carry it through in one place.
Today you pick a mode with a toggle at the top of the ChatGPT view, using Chat for questions and back-and-forth and Work for finished results like decks and reports. Chat and Work conversations already appear together in that view.
Greg Brockman said in July that the Work tab should go away by the end of 2026, with its features folding into regular ChatGPT. Codex, which has its own view and history in the app, stays separate and is not part of the merge.
A shared usage allowance will replace the separate ChatGPT and Codex limits
OpenAI says most users will not wait for their usage to reset more often than they do today. Usage depends on the model and the task, with more advanced models and complex tasks using more of the allowance, and Unlimited Instant stays included in your plan without drawing from usage.
Work usage inside ChatGPT already uses the same limits and credits as Codex, and models such as GPT-6.1 Sol run in Work and Codex but not in Chat. Plus and Standard Business plans measure Codex use in five-hour windows, while Pro plans currently have no five-hour limit.
Our Take
One Chat and Work experience addresses the main complaint I had with the new app in July, which was finding my own chats. Giving ChatGPT Classic a date is fair, since Work and Codex were never part of it, and January 30 gives us about three months to switch. This still doesn’t fix the issue with native vs non-native app performance, as the modern ChatGPT app for Mac still feels slow and bloated.
