// 9TO5MAC — MOBILE & WEB
OpenAI is retiring ChatGPT Classic app, will soon combine Chat and Work tabs in new app
Users who still rely on the ChatGPT Classic app were greeted today with a message informing them that the app will soon be retired. Separately, OpenAI is also preparing to merge ChatGPT and Work into a single interface. Here are the details.
A few months ago, OpenAI released a new ChatGPT desktop app, which brought ChatGPT, Work, and Codex under a single interface. As a result, the regular ChatGPT app was renamed ChatGPT Classic.
The move proved controversial for two reasons. First, OpenAI replaced the native macOS app with an Electron-based version. Second, the new interface was extremely confusing, making it difficult to access regular ChatGPT conversations or even distinguish between ChatGPT, Work, and Codex.
OpenAI was quick to address some of the complaints, restoring direct access to conversations via a prominent Chat and Work toggle at the top of the window, along with a sidebar menu for switching between ChatGPT and Codex. The company has since introduced other changes to make the app easier to use.
The ChatGPT Classic app, on the other hand, remained largely untouched and became increasingly less reliable as OpenAI released new models that were more tightly integrated with features exclusive to the new app, such as the ability to select different reasoning effort levels.
And as much as it felt like the writing had been on the wall for its demise, now we have a date. According to a new message displayed to users when they open ChatGPT Classic, the app will officially be retired on January 30, 2027.
“This app will retire on January 30, 2027. Get the latest features in the new ChatGPT app. Your full chat history comes with you, so you can pick up where you left off.”
Clicking on the banner leads users to the ChatGPT downloads page, where they can download the latest version of the desktop app.
Meanwhile, OpenAI is informing users that it will begin testing a combined Chat and Work experience in the coming weeks.
The announcement comes a few months after OpenAI president Greg Brockman acknowledged that the new ChatGPT interface was “kind of a mess,” and said the company hoped to eliminate the Work tab by the end of the year, with its functionality becoming part of the regular ChatGPT experience.