OpenAI Brings Internet-Enabled Codex to ChatGPT Plus Users

OpenAI has expanded the availability of its powerful AI coding assistant, Codex, making it accessible to ChatGPT Plus users. Previously exclusive to Enterprise, Team, and Pro users, Codex is now within reach for individual developers and smaller teams, offering advanced features for coding, debugging, and testing.

One of the most significant upgrades in this rollout is Codex’s ability to access the internet during programming tasks. This enhancement enables the AI to perform more dynamic functions like installing dependencies, fetching resources, and interacting with live staging servers. However, in the interest of security, internet access is disabled by default. Users must manually enable it and can customize permissions by specifying which domains Codex may reach and which HTTP methods it can use.

Security remains a top priority. OpenAI has implemented systems to monitor for prompt injection attacks—attempts to trick the AI into performing unintended web actions. These safeguards help ensure that Codex’s new online capabilities do not compromise safety or user control.

In a bid to improve accessibility and user convenience, OpenAI has also added voice input support. Developers can now issue spoken instructions to Codex, allowing for hands-free interaction and improved accessibility for users with disabilities or those who prefer voice commands over typing.

Codex has also become smarter in handling Git workflows. Previously, the AI would generate a new pull request with each change. Now, it can update existing ones, which streamlines collaboration and reduces repository clutter during ongoing development work.

Performance-wise, the assistant is also getting a behind-the-scenes boost. OpenAI has optimized setup scripts, enhanced support for iOS, and improved Codex’s integration with GitHub. The sign-in process for users using social logins or single sign-on has been simplified by removing the two-factor authentication requirement.

Originally launched in May, Codex is embedded directly into ChatGPT and designed to handle a wide range of development tasks. These range from generating new features to fixing bugs and answering complex technical questions. Each project runs in an isolated environment (or sandbox) to maintain safety and prevent cross-task interference.

Codex is powered by a specialized version of OpenAI’s o3 model, which has been trained using reinforcement learning on real-world software development projects. This allows the AI to generate code that closely mimics human writing styles, particularly in collaborative environments like pull requests.

To start using Codex in ChatGPT Plus, users can access it via the sidebar. Tasks are assigned by selecting the “Code” option after entering a prompt. There’s also an “Ask” feature that lets users request help with specific parts of their codebase. Each task runs in its own dedicated workspace and typically takes between 1 and 30 minutes to complete, depending on complexity, with live progress updates visible throughout.

OpenAI’s decision to open up Codex to a broader audience signals a push to empower more developers with advanced AI tools, making coding more efficient, interactive, and accessible.