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ChatGPT is more than a tool for answering questions and generating content based on your specific requests. Today, 27th August OpenAI announced a new update to ChatGPT Work. With the new update OpenAI is allowing ChatGPT to perform tasks on certain websites that require users to sign in.
This basically means you can ask ChatGPT to handle a task on a website, and when the website requires authentication, you can securely sign in yourself. ChatGPT can then continue working on the task while your username and password remain hidden from the AI model.
This could make ChatGPT much more useful for everyday administrative tasks, online research, work, travel, and other situations where information is hidden behind a personal account.
What Is This the New ChatGPT Work Feature?
OpenAI has introduced the ability for ChatGPT Work’s cloud browser to work with supported signed-in websites.
Previously, an AI browser could generally work only with information that was publicly accessible or available through connected apps. Now, ChatGPT Work can access certain websites after you authenticate.
For example, you could ask ChatGPT to:
- Check information inside your utility account
- Compare plans on a utility website
- Find available DMV appointments
- Prepare information for passport renewal
- Track a package using information from your email and a tracking website
- Search for apartment listings that match your requirements
- Reconcile invoices or update accounting records
- Check information available through an insurance portal
OpenAI says the exact tasks ChatGPT can complete depend on the website, your access, and the particular action involved. Some websites may block automated browser activity, while some actions require you to take over or complete the final step yourself.
How Does It Work?
The feature uses what OpenAI calls a cloud browser.
Rather than controlling the browser on your personal computer, ChatGPT Work gets its own browser running on a separate computer in the cloud.
That browser can:
- Open websites
- Read webpages
- Click buttons
- Enter information into forms
- Navigate through websites
- Work with supported websites after you sign in
- Continue working on a task after you leave the conversation
You don’t have to manually select the cloud browser. ChatGPT determines when it should use it based on the task you request.
Step 1: Tell ChatGPT What You Want Done
You start by describing the outcome you want. For example:Â “Find me the earliest available DMV appointment and prepare the booking.” ChatGPT can then navigate to the appropriate website and begin the task.
Step 2: ChatGPT Asks for Website Access
If ChatGPT needs to access a website, it can ask for permission. You remain in control of which websites ChatGPT is allowed to access.
Step 3: You Sign In Yourself
If the website requires a username and password, ChatGPT pauses and presents a secure sign-in process.You enter your credentials there. You may also need to complete two-factor authentication or enter a security code.
The important part is that your credentials are not shown to the AI model.
According to OpenAI, credentials entered through the secure sign-in form go directly to the remote browser. The username and password are not visible to the model, and ChatGPT does not store those sign-in credentials.
Your Password Is Not Given to ChatGPT
You must never paste your password, security code, or payment information directly into a normal ChatGPT conversation.
Instead, when authentication is required, use the secure sign-in flow provided by the cloud browser.
OpenAI says the username and password entered through this process are not visible to the model and are not stored by ChatGPT.
What Happens After You Sign In?
Once authentication is complete, ChatGPT can continue the task within that signed-in browser session. For example, imagine you ask: “Log into my utility account and compare my current plan with the available plans.”
ChatGPT could navigate to the utility website, use the authenticated session, review the available information, and compare the plans.
You don’t necessarily need to log in again every time. OpenAI says the cloud browser can maintain its own signed-in sessions, meaning a session may remain available for future tasks until it expires or you clear the browser data.
Let’s create a scenario in order to understand what does this mean for everyday users?
Instead of asking ChatGPT only:Â “How do I do this?” you can ask:Â “Do this for me.”
For example:
Before: “How do I find a DMV appointment?”
(After) With an authenticated cloud browser: “Find the earliest DMV appointment available and prepare it for me.”
Or:
Before: “How can I compare my utility plans?”
(After) With the new capability: “Check my utility account, compare my current plan with the available options, and tell me which one would save me the most.”
Personally, I think the most interesting part of this feature isn’t the ability to sign into a website but the capability it represents.
This feature is so powerful because the AI isn’t just explaining a process. Now, it can perform parts of the process itself.
Want to know how safe this feature is? Click here to learn more about ChatGPT Work’s security and privacy protections.
