OpenAI is giving ChatGPT a more assistant-like role with Tasks, a new feature for scheduled reminders and recurring requests. The change does not make ChatGPT as hands-on as Siri, Google Assistant, or Alexa, but it does move the product beyond single-session chat and into planned follow-up.
For now, Tasks is available to paying subscribers worldwide, including ChatGPT Plus, Team, and Pro users. Free users are not included in the initial rollout, and OpenAI has not announced when or if they will get access.
What ChatGPT Tasks Does
Tasks lets users ask ChatGPT to do something at a specific time or on a repeating schedule. Instead of relying on the user to return to the chat and ask again, ChatGPT can now handle basic scheduled prompts.
To start, users need to choose the “4o with scheduled tasks” option from ChatGPT’s model menu. After that, they can describe what they want and when they want it handled.
The examples OpenAI shared show the feature’s intended range: practical reminders, daily information, and small recurring prompts. Users can ask for a heads-up when their passport is six months from expiring, daily weather forecasts at 7 AM, weekly weekend activity suggestions based on location and weather, morning affirmations at 7 AM, or daily knock-knock jokes at 6 PM for bedtime stories.
Those examples are simple, but they matter because they change the timing of how ChatGPT is used. The product is no longer limited to answering only when someone opens a chat. It can now be asked to return with something later.
Who Can Use It Now
The rollout is immediate for ChatGPT Plus, Team, and Pro users worldwide. OpenAI is using the paid release to gather feedback before making broader decisions about access.
That leaves free users waiting. The source does not include a date for free access, and it also does not confirm that free access will happen. The only clear position is that OpenAI is starting with subscribers first.
During the beta phase, there is also a usage limit. Users can have up to 10 active tasks at the same time. That cap keeps the feature closer to a controlled assistant tool than a fully open automation system.
When ChatGPT completes a task, it can send notifications through desktop, browser, or smartphone alerts. That makes Tasks useful outside the chat window, because the output can arrive where users are more likely to notice it.
How Users Manage Tasks
Users can manage Tasks in two places. They can work with them inside the regular chat window, or they can use a dedicated task manager.
The dedicated task manager is currently available only on the web version. That distinction matters for anyone expecting the same level of management across every device. Notifications may arrive on desktop, browser, or smartphone, but the full task manager is limited to the web for now.
ChatGPT can also suggest tasks based on chat history. The source makes clear that users keep the final decision on whether those suggested tasks are actually set up.
That approval step is important because it keeps the system from quietly turning conversation context into scheduled actions. ChatGPT may notice a possible task, but the user decides whether it becomes active.
What Tasks Still Cannot Do
Tasks is not yet a general-purpose agent that can take over complex errands. The source says the system will eventually be able to perform scheduled internet searches, but it cannot yet do continuous background searches or make purchases.
That means the feature should be understood as scheduled assistance, not autonomous planning. A reminder, forecast, recurring suggestion, or daily message fits the current model. An independent process that researches, compares, purchases, and books something does not.
The difference is especially clear in the travel example from the source. ChatGPT is still far from being an AI that can independently plan and book your vacation.
OpenAI is also developing more sophisticated agent systems behind the scenes, including one called “Operator” that is designed to write code and book travel arrangements on its own. Tasks appears to be a step toward that broader direction, but it is not the same kind of system.
Why This Matters for AI Assistants
Tasks puts ChatGPT into territory long associated with voice assistants such as Google Assistant, Siri, and Alexa. Those products have traditionally handled reminders, alerts, and routine requests, often through more rigid command patterns.
The larger shift is that these services are trying to become more flexible AI companions. Language models can understand more varied requests than older rule-based systems, but the challenge is making them reliable enough for everyday use.
That reliability question is central to Tasks. A scheduled assistant is only useful if it triggers at the right time, respects the user’s intent, and stays manageable. The beta limit of 10 active tasks, the requirement to select “4o with scheduled tasks,” and the user approval for suggested tasks all point to a cautious rollout.
For subscribers, the feature adds a practical layer to ChatGPT without turning it into a fully autonomous assistant. It can remember to act later, repeat simple requests, and send notifications when a task is done. But it remains bounded: no purchases, no continuous background searches, and no confirmed access for free users.
The result is a meaningful but limited step. ChatGPT Tasks makes the product more useful as a day-to-day assistant, while also showing how much work remains before AI systems can reliably handle more open-ended plans on their own.