Looking for how to use ChatGPT Operator to build a shopping cart or prepare a booking?
Operator was OpenAI’s AI agent that could use a web browser on your behalf. Its capabilities moved into ChatGPT agent mode in 2025; OpenAI now directs those workflows to ChatGPT Work. This article covers Work’s Cloud browser, which runs on a separate computer in the cloud. The built-in browser in the ChatGPT desktop app is a separate feature for working with websites and local web apps inside the desktop app.
This guide will help you choose a suitable browser task, write a precise brief, and decide whether using ChatGPT Work will actually save you time.
Product status and documentation checked September 8, 2026.
Tasks you can try with ChatGPT Work’s Cloud browser
ChatGPT agent browsing is most useful when a task requires interacting with a website: signing in, applying filters, moving through pages, or entering information into fields. The examples below are suggested trials based on documented browser capabilities, not measured completion rates or guarantees.
| Example task | Try this first | Check yourself | Don’t |
|---|---|---|---|
| Build a shopping cart from an approved list of items | Provide the item names, quantities, permitted stores, and spending limit | Review every item, variant, delivery charge, and final total at checkout | Place the order or substitute products without your approval |
| Apply filters on a booking or listings site and collect matching options | Give the dates, location, capacity, accessibility needs, and budget | Confirm availability, cancellation terms, and the total cost for your dates | Make a reservation, pay a deposit, or contact the provider |
| Extract a defined set of records from an account dashboard after you sign in | Ask for a specific report, such as the last 30 days of affiliate sales by product | Complete sign-in yourself, check the records, and remove access when finished | Give an unrestricted account to an open-ended task |
| Navigate a service portal to prepare a change for your review | State the exact account, requested change, and stopping point | Check the account, proposed change, effective date, and any fee | Send a message, spend money, delete data, or change access without your approval |
For a first test, choose an output with a visible finish line: a cart built from five named items that stops at checkout, for example. Avoid a request such as “sort out our suppliers,” which leaves the selection criteria and authority unclear.
What ChatGPT Work’s Cloud browser is and how access works
OpenAI Operator introduced an agent that could inspect webpages and act through clicks, typing, and scrolling. OpenAI announced its integration into ChatGPT agent mode in July 2025. The standalone Operator website is no longer accessible. The current product is ChatGPT Work, and this article focuses on its Cloud browser.
Check these access conditions before you plan a workflow around it:
- Eligible plan: Cloud browser is available on paid plans in supported regions, excluding Free and Go. Pro is useful if you expect to run many browser tasks or also use Codex, because Work and Codex share its higher usage allowance. Check our ChatGPT Plus vs Pro comparison if you consider upgrading.
- Signed-in website support: To use it on a website where you need to sign in, OpenAI currently lists Plus and Pro as eligible plans. If the task needs an account, test that exact website before you rely on Cloud browser. ChatGPT Work pauses for you to sign in to the website, then continues using that session. Some websites may block the login or require a step Cloud browser cannot complete.
- Enterprise and Edu workspaces: Ask your workspace admin whether Work Cloud is enabled for your role. OpenAI currently says Cloud browser website sign-in is unavailable in these workspaces, so enabling Work Cloud does not enable tasks inside signed-in websites.
- Usage allowance: Work and Codex draw from the same allowance. Check what remains before you start a long or recurring browser task, especially if you also use Codex. If you are close to the limit, wait for it to reset or choose a smaller task.
How Cloud browser works, pauses, and returns control
ChatGPT Work includes Cloud browser for supported web tasks. It does not inherit the tabs or sign-ins from your personal browser. OpenAI says it can continue after you close your computer, pausing when it needs input or approval.
When a website needs you to sign in, Work pauses and presents a sign-in request. You can review the website address and a preview of the login form, then enter your credentials and any required security code in the secure form provided by ChatGPT. The model does not see the username or password entered there. After sign-in, Work can continue using that session for this and later tasks until it expires.
Approval requests appear in the chat. Website permission and action approval are separate: allowing a shopping site lets Work access it, but a payment requires a further confirmation. Review the proposed action in the conversation before approving it.
For a manual takeover, Work provides a link in the conversation that opens control of its remote Cloud browser on your phone or computer. If Work cannot select a delivery option, for example, use that link and make the selection yourself. Then return control to Work with a clear instruction: “Continue adding the remaining items, but stop before checkout.”
Example prompts for Cloud browser tasks and how to check the results
Start with a website task that has a defined input and stopping point. OpenAI’s Work guidance recommends clear outcomes and explicit constraints. State which website to use, the details to enter or compare, and the point where Work should pause for your review.
The following briefs are browser-task examples to adapt and test.
Build a shopping cart and stop before checkout
Set product variants and substitution rules before Work opens the retailer’s site. A shopping cart can create a strong impression of progress while still containing the wrong size, quantity, or delivery option.
On the retailer’s website, add the items below to a shopping cart. Use the stated size, quantity, and maximum price for each one. Show me the cart with the item prices, delivery charge, and total, then stop before checkout. Don’t substitute an item or place the order.
Check the result: Review every item, variant, quantity, delivery charge, and total in the cart. You decide whether to remove items, accept substitutions, or check out.
Prepare a booking without confirming it
State the dates, location, and constraints before Work opens a booking site. Confirming a booking creates a commitment, so set the stopping point before the final approval screen.
Search this booking site for the soonest appointment matching the date and location requirements below, choose it, and enter the non-sensitive details I provide. Stop at the final confirmation screen. Don’t confirm the booking or accept paid extras.
Check the result: Verify the appointment type, location, date, time, cost, and cancellation terms before you confirm it.
Common Cloud browser failure modes and how to resolve them
A pause can mean the task needs your input, the website rejects the browser, or the interface has failed. OpenAI documents CAPTCHA and automated-access barriers. Repeating the same prompt will not necessarily resolve the obstacle.
Failure modes and recovery
Login or 2FA: Sign in yourself through the supported secure flow. If your workspace or authentication method is not supported, switch to an approved alternative or complete that step by hand.
CAPTCHA or site blocking: Take over if offered. If access remains blocked, use another source or your own browser. Don’t ask the agent to defeat the site’s controls.
Frozen or unusual interface: Ask for the current page and last completed step. Inspect the browser, take over if possible, and resume from a known state. Stop if controls remain unusable.
How to use Cloud browser securely
Use these controls when you give Work access to websites and accounts:
- Check the website address before allowing access. Make sure it belongs to the service you intended to use, especially before signing in.
- Allow trusted websites individually. In Settings → Cloud browser, keep “Always ask” as the default and allow specific sites you have checked and expect to use again. This avoids repeated access prompts for those sites. Purchases, bookings, and other consequential actions still require separate review.
- Use the secure sign-in form. Enter passwords and security codes in the form provided by ChatGPT, never in the conversation.
- Check each action before you confirm it. On a purchase, that means the items, quantities, delivery address, and total. On a booking, the date, location, and cancellation terms.
- Halt anything that drifts. If Work opens a site you were not expecting or starts an action you never asked for, pause and look into what happened before letting it go further.
- Clear saved sign-ins when you no longer need them. Go to Settings → Cloud browser → Browser data and clear the site’s data to sign out of that account in Cloud browser.
For wider privacy considerations, read whether ChatGPT is safe to use.
Business use is worth a pilot if review costs less than the work
Treat Work’s cloud browser as a candidate for a supervised workflow. The business case depends on the effort required to reach an acceptable result, including the parts you still do yourself.
For a small pilot, record four things: time to write the brief, time spent on interventions, time to check and correct the output, and any tool cost. Compare that with the manual process at the same quality standard. This is an evaluation method, not a claimed savings rate.
Separate elapsed time from attention. A task that runs while you do something else may be useful even if it takes longer overall. Record interruptions as well as minutes: a task that repeatedly pulls you away from other work may still be a poor fit.
Agree on an exit condition before the trial: keep the workflow only if its output is accurate enough for the job, its permissions are acceptable, and the total human effort falls. Expand the number of records or websites gradually. Keep consequential actions under supervision even after a browser task performs well.
If the trial saves you time after review and corrections, use our guide to automating repetitive tasks with AI to explore making the workflow repeatable.
If Cloud browser struggles with the task, compare business AI agents by use case to assess whether another tool fits better—or whether the task is simpler to do yourself.
Build the skills to work with agents effectively and safely
Working well with agents comes down to picking the right tasks to hand off, writing clear instructions, controlling what the agent can reach, and knowing when to step in. Treat every browser task as practice: note what you had to clarify, which actions needed your sign-off, and whether the result was worth the time you spent checking it. Hold on to the instructions that worked and reword the ones that led the agent astray.
If you want structured AI practice, Coursiv’s AI certificate program runs on short lessons that fit around a full schedule, with hands-on practice and a certificate at the end.
FAQ
What is ChatGPT Operator, and what happened to it?
ChatGPT Operator was OpenAI’s AI agent that could navigate websites, click buttons, and enter information to carry out tasks on your behalf. Its browser capabilities moved into ChatGPT agent mode in 2025, and the standalone Operator website is no longer available.
Today, the browser workflows covered in this guide use ChatGPT Work’s Cloud browser.