OpenAI announced on Friday it’s launching a research preview of Codex, the company’s most capable AI coding agent yet.
Codex is powered by codex-1, a version of the company’s o3 AI reasoning model optimized for software engineering tasks. OpenAI says codex-1 produces “cleaner” code than o3, adheres more precisely to instructions, and will iteratively run tests on its code until passing results are achieved.
The Codex agent runs in a sandboxed, virtual computer in the cloud. By connecting with GitHub, Codex’s environment can come preloaded with your code repositories. OpenAI says the AI coding agent will take anywhere from one to 30 minutes to write simple features, fix bugs, answer questions about your codebase, and run tests, among other tasks.
Codex can handle multiple software engineering tasks simultaneously, says OpenAI, and it doesn’t limit users from accessing their computer and browser while it’s running.
Codex is rolling out starting today to subscribers to ChatGPT Pro, Enterprise, and Team. OpenAI says users will have “generous access” to Codex to start, but in the coming weeks, the company will implement rate limits for the tool. Users will then have the option to purchase additional credits to use Codex, an OpenAI spokesperson tells TechCrunch.
OpenAI plans to expand Codex access to ChatGPT Plus and Edu users soon.
AI tools for software engineers, also known as vibe coders, have surged in popularity in recent months. The CEOs of Google and Microsoft claim that roughly 30% of their companies’ code is now written by AI. In February, Anthropic released its own agentic coding tool, Claude Code, and in April, Google updated its AI coding assistant, Gemini Code Assist, with more agentic abilities.
All that vibe coding has made the businesses behind AI coding platforms some of the fastest-growing in tech. Cursor, among the most popular AI coding tools, reached annualized revenue of around $300 million in April and is reportedly raising new funds at a $9 billion valuation.
Now, OpenAI wants a piece of the pie. The ChatGPT maker has reportedly closed on a deal to acquire Windsurf, the developer behind another popular AI coding platform, for $3 billion. The launch of Codex shows very clearly that OpenAI is building out its own AI coding tools, in addition.
Users with access to Codex can find the tool in ChatGPT’s sidebar, and assign the agent new coding tasks by typing a prompt and clicking the “Code” button. Users can also ask questions about their codebase and click the “Ask” button. Below the prompting bar, users can see other tasks they’ve assigned Codex to do, and monitor their progress.
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