Agent Mode

Agent mode, also called ChatGPT agent, lets ChatGPT carry out a task on the web for you in its own virtual browser, clicking buttons, filling in forms and moving between sites, and you start it by choosing it from the tools menu or typing /agent in the message box (ChatGPT agent). It is for paid plans only: as of Nov 6, 2026 OpenAI's help article gives Plus 40 messages a month and Pro 400. It arrived on Jul 17, 2025, folding in Operator, the earlier standalone agent. Since Jul 9, 2026, longer multi-step jobs that end in finished files also run in ChatGPT Work, which has a cloud browser of its own.

Quick facts

What can ChatGPT agent mode do?

The agent works in a virtual browser that it sees through screenshots, so it can click, type, scroll and fill out forms the way a person would (ChatGPT agent). You can switch on apps you have connected as extra sources for its research. It suits tasks such as comparing and booking options, gathering details from several sites into one answer, or filling a long web form with information you provide. The same launch gave deep research a visual browser through agent mode (Introducing deep research).

How to use agent mode

1. Open a chat and choose agent mode from the tools menu, or type /agent.
2. Describe the whole task, including any limits ("under $200", "only refundable fares").
3. Answer when the agent pauses to ask a question or to confirm a step.
4. If a site needs you to sign in, choose ••• > Take over browser, sign in yourself, then hand control back.
5. Review the result. To repeat a task on a schedule, set it up at chatgpt.com/schedules.

Source: ChatGPT agent, OpenAI Help Center, read Nov 6, 2026. A step-by-step guide with examples is on How to Use ChatGPT Agent Mode.

Safety confirmations and takeover

The agent asks for your confirmation before "high-impact actions", refuses disallowed tasks, and is monitored for prompt injection, meaning instructions hidden in web pages that try to steer it. On some sites a watch mode requires you to keep watching while it works. While you have taken over the browser, no screenshots are captured; when you hand it back, the agent tries to carry on but may need to restart or ask again. OpenAI says these safeguards do not remove all risk and recommends keeping an eye on the agent (ChatGPT agent).

Agent mode limits

Source: ChatGPT agent, OpenAI Help Center, read Nov 6, 2026.

Only the request you start counts: clarifications and sign-in steps in the middle of a task do not, but scheduled runs do (ChatGPT agent). The Pro row is OpenAI's single "Pro" figure; the article does not split it across Pro 100, Pro 200 and Pro 500. See ChatGPT Usage Limits.

What agent mode cannot do

• Run on Free or Go.
• Visit sites a workspace owner has blocked.
• Read synced apps such as Google Drive directly (other enabled apps can supply that data).
• Run at all in Lockdown Mode, which turns agent mode off (Lockdown Mode).

Source: ChatGPT agent, OpenAI Help Center, read Nov 6, 2026. At launch, agent mode was not yet available in the EEA and Switzerland (Introducing ChatGPT agent); the current article does not say whether that changed for personal plans.

Agent mode and ChatGPT Work

0:04 ChatGPT Work, launched on Jul 9, 2026, is OpenAI's agent for longer jobs: it researches across connected apps and files and produces documents, spreadsheets, presentations and Sites. Its cloud browser on the web and mobile can sign in to some websites for Plus and Pro since Aug 25, 2026, with password managers supported and ChatGPT unable to see the password; it asks before consequential steps such as a payment, and you clear its data at Settings > Cloud browser > Browser data. In the desktop app, Work also has a built-in browser and can use local files and apps with permission.

Whether agent mode in Chat will stay a separate tool beside Work is not stated in OpenAI's pages as of Nov 6, 2026: the agent help article does not mention Work, and Lockdown Mode still lists agent mode as something it disables. For a one-off web task in a chat, agent mode is the tool; for a deliverable or a task that runs on a schedule or a trigger, Work is.

From Operator to agent mode

Operator was a research preview of an agent with its own browser, for Pro users in the US at operator.chatgpt.com (Introducing Operator). On Jul 17, 2025 it was folded into ChatGPT as agent mode, for Pro, Plus and Team first, with Enterprise and Education to follow, and the Operator site was retired (Introducing ChatGPT agent). ChatGPT Atlas, OpenAI's browser with its own agent mode, stopped working on Aug 9, 2026.

What testers found

11:29 In a Jun 8, 2026 video comparing ChatGPT with Claude for browser work such as copying details from 20 tabs into a document, Igor Pogany of The AI Advantage said he had stopped using ChatGPT's agent mode over time because Claude's Chrome extension handled those jobs so well, and he gave Claude the round. He also warned that such agents break on anything more complex than a sentence or two of instructions.

4:35 Kian of The AI Productivity Coach, in a Dec 6, 2025 video, counted agent mode among ChatGPT's advantages over Gemini, for browsing sites, filling forms and booking, and noted it was not offered in every country.

Frequently asked questions

Is ChatGPT agent mode free? No. As of Nov 6, 2026, OpenAI says ChatGPT agent mode is only available on paid plans.

How many agent tasks do I get on ChatGPT Plus? 40 agent messages a month on Plus and 400 on Pro, as of Nov 6, 2026; only the requests you start count.

How do I turn on agent mode in ChatGPT? Choose agent mode from the tools menu in the message box, or type /agent, then describe the task.

Can ChatGPT agent log in to websites? It pauses so you can sign in yourself with Take over browser; ChatGPT captures no screenshots while you are in control.

Will ChatGPT agent buy things without asking? It asks for confirmation before high-impact actions, but OpenAI says the safeguards do not remove all risk, so watch what it does.

What is the difference between agent mode and ChatGPT Work? Agent mode does a web task inside a chat; ChatGPT Work, added on Jul 9, 2026, handles longer tasks across apps and files and delivers finished documents, spreadsheets, presentations and Sites.

Sources

• ChatGPT agent, OpenAI Help Center, read Nov 6, 2026
• ChatGPT release notes, OpenAI Help Center, read Nov 6, 2026
• Lockdown Mode, OpenAI Help Center, read Nov 6, 2026
• Introducing ChatGPT agent, OpenAI, Jul 17, 2025, read Nov 6, 2026
• Introducing deep research, OpenAI, read Nov 6, 2026
• Introducing Operator, OpenAI, read Nov 6, 2026
• Use Your Computer and Browser, OpenAI, Aug 28, 2026 (video)
• ChatGPT vs. Claude: Which Should You Use in 2026?, The AI Advantage, Jun 8, 2026 (video)
• ChatGPT vs Gemini: Which One is Better in 2026?, The AI Productivity Coach, Dec 6, 2025 (video)