OpenAI's product chief explains who ChatGPT Work is for, and what it costs to keep it cheap
Thibault Sottiaux oversees every OpenAI product, from the developer API to the consumer chatbot. He spoke to TechCrunch AI about bringing AI agents to ordinary workers, a design philosophy built around simplicity, and why he believes prices will keep falling.
Key points
- ChatGPT Work, OpenAI's AI agent platform for office workers, has reached 20 million users.
- The service is included in the $20-per-month Plus plan, with no separate purchase needed.
- OpenAI has announced an 80% price cut tied to a new efficiency model called Luna, framed as a permanent correction.
- Thibault Sottiaux leads all core products at OpenAI, covering the API, agent infrastructure, enterprise, and every ChatGPT version, and reports to co-founder Greg Brockman.
- OpenAI rolled out iMessage integration for ChatGPT on the day of the interview, first reported by TechCrunch AI.
Thibault Sottiaux is not a name most ChatGPT users would recognise. Inside OpenAI he oversees everything from the developer API to the consumer chatbot, and he's the person who has, at various points, manually raised token limits (the monthly cap on how much a user can interact with the AI) when a product hits a growth target. His latest project is ChatGPT Work, a platform that gives everyday office workers access to AI agents: software that can carry out multi-step tasks on its own, reading documents, writing a report, or assembling a slide deck, without step-by-step guidance.
Our August story on ChatGPT Work found that only a small fraction of users had tried anything like it at that point, making the 20 million figure announced since then a notable jump.
What is ChatGPT Work, exactly?
It's an AI agent tool built for people who aren't software engineers. Most agent products have been aimed at technical users comfortable with code and comfortable with failure. ChatGPT Work tries to bring that capability to anyone with a phone or a browser.
Sottiaux puts it plainly: take what was designed for a "forgiving technical audience" and package it so it's safe and pleasant enough for anyone to pick up. The service sits inside the existing $20-per-month Plus subscription, so no separate purchase is required.
Is it actually ready for ordinary workers?
Sottiaux says yes, pointing to 20 million users as evidence. The design choice is what he calls "minimal product surface": fewer buttons, fewer settings, more letting the AI decide what to do. His reference point is ChatGPT Voice, which he says has grown quickly because users don't have to learn a new interface.
Not everyone sees it that way. Ethan Mollick, a Wharton professor who studies AI tools, has noted that rival Claude, Anthropic's chatbot, asks users to make more choices and run their own comparisons. Sottiaux's counter is that workers shouldn't have to adapt to the software. It should adapt to them.
GPT-5.6, the model powering Work tasks, was described by Sottiaux as a step up for professional work: processing large batches of documents, generating slides, producing research reports.
What will it cost to use?
Less than it does now, over time, is the short answer.
OpenAI has announced an 80% price reduction tied to a new efficiency model called Luna. Sottiaux frames this as a permanent correction rather than a promotion. His pitch to anyone worried about rising bills: the same work that costs a certain amount today should cost less in six months, not more.
| Metric | Figure |
|---|---|
| ChatGPT Work users (at launch milestone) | 20 million |
| Plus plan monthly price | $20 |
| Price cut announced via Luna model | 80% |
| GPT model version for Work tasks | GPT-5.6 |
Should you worry about giving it access to your messages?
OpenAI is asking users to connect ChatGPT to their email and, as of this week, to Apple's iMessage. That's a meaningful ask. Sottiaux points to investment in what he calls a "safety stack" and to published benchmarks on model behaviour as the answer.
If that level of access feels like too much right now, the practical step is simple: don't connect those accounts yet. Core task features work without inbox or messaging access.
Common questions
Do I need a separate subscription for ChatGPT Work?
No. ChatGPT Work is included in the standard Plus plan, which costs $20 per month, the same plan that covers regular ChatGPT access.
What is a token limit, and why does it matter?
A token is roughly equivalent to a word or a fragment of a word. AI services set a monthly cap on how many tokens a user can consume, which controls how much processing the service will do for that price. Hit the cap and the AI stops until the next billing period or until the limit is raised.
Will the AI make mistakes on my work documents?
Yes, sometimes. Sottiaux describes the current approach as iterative: the product learns from real use and improves over time. Checking outputs, especially on anything consequential, is still good practice.
