OpenAI Launches ChatGPT Work & GPT-5.6 in Australia, AI Agent That Books Flights, Writes Code, and Builds Websites Takes On Office Work

OpenAI has launched ChatGPT Work and the GPT-5.6 model family in Australia, introducing an AI agent that works across apps and files to produce documents, spreadsheets, presentations and web apps. The new agent, built on the GPT-5.6 Sol flagship model, is designed to stay on complex projects for hours and coordinate multiple agents in parallel.

OpenAI has officially launched ChatGPT Work and the GPT-5.6 model family in Australia, marking one of the company's biggest updates to its flagship AI product. The new release transforms ChatGPT from a question-answering tool into an AI agent capable of completing multi-step workplace tasks across apps, files, and workflows.

"Nearly 40% of ChatGPT conversations here are now work-related, and Codex usage has grown more than sixfold this year as people increasingly look to AI to help complete work, not just answer questions," said Satya Tammareddy, Head of Go-to-Market for OpenAI in Australia . "ChatGPT Work brings those capabilities together in one experience, making powerful AI agents accessible to more people."

ChatGPT Work: The AI Agent for Office Tasks

ChatGPT Work is a new agent inside ChatGPT that can work across apps and files to produce documents, spreadsheets, presentations and web apps. The system is designed to stay on complex projects for hours, drawing context from selected workflows and files. Users can ask it to gather information from Slack, Gmail, Google Drive, Salesforce and calendars, then analyse data, create spreadsheets, or build interactive websites.

In a live demonstration, OpenAI showed ChatGPT Work automatically searching Slack messages and employee feedback to identify interview candidates, and then coordinating their schedules all from a single voice command. The financial team also demonstrated the agent analysing monthly data, updating forecasts, generating a presentation, and sharing it via Slack without manual intervention.

The launch also brings Chat, Work and Codex together in a new desktop app for Mac and Windows, available to all users including the free tier. A unified plugins directory connects ChatGPT with tools including Slack, Gmail, Google Drive, calendars and CRM systems.

GPT-5.6 Family: Sol, Terra and Luna

The new service is built on GPT-5.6, OpenAI's latest model family, which includes Sol, Terra and Luna. Sol is the flagship model for advanced reasoning, coding, and cybersecurity; Terra is the balanced everyday model; and Luna is a faster, lower-cost option for high-volume tasks.

GPT-5.6 Sol scored 53.6 on Agents' Last Exam, outperforming Claude Fable 5 in adaptive reasoning and completing tasks in 61% less time. On coding, GPT-5.6 Sol scored 80 on the Artificial Analysis Coding Agent Index, 2.8 points above Fable 5, while using less than half the output tokens. The model also set leading results on Terminal-Bench 2.1 and DeepSWE for command-line and software engineering workflows.

Ultra Mode and Hosted Sites

OpenAI has introduced an "ultra" setting that coordinates four agents in parallel by default, improving output quality across documents, spreadsheets and presentations. A “max” setting gives models more time to reason, run checks and revises their approach.

The company also launched Hosted Sites in public beta for Plus, Pro, Business and Enterprise users, allowing ChatGPT Work to turn content into interactive websites, dashboards, or web apps that update automatically when source data changes.

Launch Details and Access

ChatGPT Work is rolling out on web and mobile for Pro, Enterprise and Edu users, with Plus and Business to follow. Codex is being merged into the ChatGPT desktop app, available for free and paid users. Open-source LLM users can also access the models.

Australia has become one of OpenAI's strongest consumer markets, ranking in its top five by share of weekly active consumer users on paid plans, making the country an important testing ground for products designed to push ChatGPT beyond question-and-answer use cases .

Here is the question this launch raises. OpenAI is turning ChatGPT from a chatbot into an AI agent that can browse, book, code, and coordinate across apps. When an AI can search Slack, schedule meetings, and build websites from a single voice command, what's left for the human to do? And when the agent can finish a week's worth of work in hours, is it augmentation or replacement?

As OpenAI launches ChatGPT Work and GPT-5.6 in Australia, The Silicon Review asks a final question. When the AI that answers questions becomes the AI that takes action, is the future of work a partnership with machines or a handover of control?

FAQ:

Q: What is ChatGPT Work and what does it do?
A: ChatGPT Work is an AI agent that works across apps and files to complete multi-step tasks. It can gather information from Slack, Gmail, Google Drive, Salesforce and calendars, and then produce documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and web apps.

Q: When did OpenAI launch ChatGPT Work and GPT-5.6 in Australia?
A: OpenAI launched ChatGPT Work and the GPT-5.6 model family in Australia on July 9, 2026, as part of a global release.

Q: What is the GPT-5.6 model family?
A: GPT-5.6 is OpenAI's latest model family, consisting of Sol (flagship, advanced reasoning and coding), Terra (balanced everyday performance), and Luna (faster, lower-cost option for high-volume tasks).

Q: How does ChatGPT Work compare to Codex?
A: Codex focuses on software development code writing, debugging, and repository management. ChatGPT Work is broader, covering knowledge work like data analysis, document writing, financial modelling, and project management.

Q: Is ChatGPT Work available on all platforms?
A: ChatGPT Work is available on web and mobile for Pro, Enterprise and Edu users, with Plus and Business following. The new desktop app for Mac and Windows is available to all users, including those on the free tier.

Q: What is ultra-mode in ChatGPT Work?
A: Ultra mode coordinates multiple agents in parallel, improving output quality across documents, spreadsheets, and presentations. It's available to Pro and Enterprise users in ChatGPT Work.