OpenAI Restores Chats and Projects in Redesigned ChatGPT Desktop App
OpenAI has revised its new ChatGPT desktop app after users criticized the initial redesign for making ordinary chats and Projects harder to reach. Official release notes say the macOS and Windows app now has a clearer switcher for ChatGPT and Codex, a direct choice between Chat and Work, unified Recents, restored Projects, and cross-device syncing for cloud Work conversations. Independent reporting confirms the navigation change followed complaints about the first unified desktop release. Codex remains a separate view, local conversations remain on the device, and ChatGPT Classic continues to receive model updates, bug fixes and security patches. The change is a usability correction, not a model or security update.
What OpenAI changed
OpenAI has updated the redesigned ChatGPT desktop app for macOS and Windows after its first unified release made the standard chat experience harder for some users to find. The company’s July 16 release notes describe a clearer navigation structure built around a global switcher between ChatGPT and Codex. Inside ChatGPT, users can now choose Chat for ordinary conversations or Work for longer, multi-step tasks.
The update also brings existing ChatGPT Projects into the desktop app and combines Chat and Work conversations in a single Recents view. Users can sort, filter and pin those conversations. Cloud Work threads can continue across web, mobile and desktop, while local conversations remain on the computer.
Why OpenAI revised the interface
The correction follows criticism of the desktop redesign released the previous week. Reporting from 9to5Mac, Digital Trends and TechRadar says the first version emphasized Work and Codex while relegating ordinary ChatGPT access to a less prominent control. Users also complained that the floating chat experience did not expose their existing conversation history or Projects clearly.
OpenAI product lead Thibault Sottiaux acknowledged the complaints and said the company would restore chats and Projects to the sidebar and clarify the distinction between ChatGPT Work and Codex. The release notes now document those changes as available across all plans on macOS and Windows.
What remains separate
| Area | Current behavior |
|---|---|
| Chat | Quick questions and conversational use inside ChatGPT |
| Work | Longer tasks that can use project context and sync cloud conversations across devices |
| Codex | A separate view whose workflows and history remain unchanged |
| ChatGPT Classic | Continues to receive model updates, bug fixes and security patches |
This is an interface and workflow update. It does not introduce a new model, change Codex history, or describe a security patch. OpenAI also says Quick Chats remain available for fast conversations.
LDS assessment
The practical lesson is less about visual polish than information architecture. A unified AI desktop app now serves three different user intentions: conversation, long-running knowledge work and software development. If those modes are not clearly separated, users can lose confidence even when the underlying capabilities improve.
For product and AI teams, the useful signals to watch are task-completion time, navigation errors, Project discoverability and whether users understand which conversations are cloud-synced versus local. OpenAI’s fast correction reduces the immediate friction, but sustained usability evidence will matter more than the layout change itself.
Key Points
- 1OpenAI added clearer ChatGPT/Codex navigation and a direct Chat-versus-Work choice to the desktop app.
- 2Unified Recents, Projects access and cross-device syncing for cloud Work conversations address major complaints about the first redesign.
- 3The release is a usability correction, not a new model, Codex-history change or security update.
Scoring Rationale
The change affects navigation and project access in a widely used AI desktop product and directly corrects a poorly received rollout. Its impact is moderate because it is an interface revision rather than a new model, platform capability or security fix.
Sources
Primary source and supporting public references used for this report.
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