OpenAI President Greg Brockman admitted that the company’s revamped ChatGPT desktop app has a somewhat confusing interface. This is a temporary stop on the way to a much simpler design, he said.
Speaking to journalist Joanna Stern on 29 July, Brockman acknowledged users’ frustration following OpenAI’s merger of its ChatGPT and Codex desktop apps. He said the company had hoped to launch a version with no tabs at all, but instead opted for an incremental rollout to gather feedback before refining the experience.
“It’s kind of a mess. We agree,” Brockman said. “We were hoping to land with zero tabs… We need to get this out there, get feedback.”
He added that OpenAI’s goal is to remove the separate “Work” tab by the end of the year, allowing its features to blend seamlessly into ChatGPT.
What ChatGPT thinks
Kursiv Uzbekistan has asked a basic ChatGPT model to share thoughts about the app facelift. At first, it agreed with Brockman, calling his comments «credible,» but then pushed back, saying:
«So I wouldn’t say the interface is messy in the sense of being badly designed. I’d say it’s feature-dense and clearly evolving.»
New interface to simplify AI tools
The redesign followed OpenAI’s decision to combine ChatGPT with Codex, its AI coding assistant, and introduce “Work”, an agentic mode designed to automate more complex tasks.
Despite the backlash, Brockman said the strategy is working. According to him, Codex’s user base doubled from around 5 million to 10 million within days of its integration into the ChatGPT app. He argued that exposing more users to AI agents is central to OpenAI’s long-term vision, even if the transition has proved bumpy.
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