I once worked in a corporate office, and I remember how many of us would walk from meeting to meeting with open laptops perched on our forearms. It wasn't necessarily that we had to do emails in the hallways, elevators or stairwells, but we didn't want to shut the lid and have to restart the computer. It seemed goofy, but it also made sense.
So, I could sympathize a bit with folks who keep their laptops open everywhere to keep their AI coding operations running continuously. They have to maintain their Wi-Fi connections -- whether at an airport or restaurant or even their kids' ice-skating practice -- so that their AI agents can keep operating.
OpenAI announced a feature this week that will allow AI coders to leave their laptops at home. The company is adding Codex, the company's programming app, to the ChatGPT mobile app. So, if you're running Codex on a laptop, desktop, devbox or remote location, you can still stay connected to the process with your cellphone, even if you're out and about.
"A new rhythm for collaboration is emerging," OpenAI said. "You need to be able to easily answer a question, review what Codex found, change direction, approve what comes next, or add a new idea."
OpenAI is rolling out the feature in preview on iOS and Android across all plans, including Free and Go, in all supported regions. Support for folks running Codex on Windows is coming soon, according to the company.
To try it out, you'll need to update the ChatGPT mobile app and the Codex app on macOS.
OpenAI's Codex, Anthropic's Claude Code and SST's OpenCode are AI software engineering programs that help people write code, run tests and fix bugs. The agents employed by these apps can do in hours what it might take old-school coders and developers days to do.
But it's far from foolproof: AI agents can introduce bugs and security flaws into systems that often need to be weeded out by actual humans.
OpenAI said more than 4 million people use Codex every week.
(Disclosure: Ziff Davis, CNET's parent company, in 2025 filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.)
Codex on the go
Some Codex users might enjoy not being tethered to their laptops out in public. Business Insider recently told the stories of several people who had to go about their daily lives with laptops open, even if just a crack, to keep Codex going and writing code. OpenAI even poked fun at itself with a video on TikTok.
With Codex in the ChatGPT mobile app, people connect to the machines where Codex is running -- whether that's a laptop or a dedicated computer like a Mac Mini. The mobile app will load the live state from the machine, and users can review outputs, approve commands, change models and monitor current tasks or create new ones across all threads, the company said.
Customers' files, credentials, permissions, and local setup will remain on the machine where Codex is running. App users can view screenshots, terminal outputs and more on their phones. OpenAI said machines running Codex remain secure and not exposed to the public internet, with a secure relay layer.
Out in the real world, with Codex in the ChatGPT mobile app, users can accomplish tasks without juggling a laptop or having to perch it somewhere. Maybe Codex finds a bug while you're at the grocery store. The agent can then identify the issue, test for it and start fixing it. Or perhaps Codex needs a decision from you to take further action on something, while you're talking to a friend at the coffee shop. You can check out the situation and tell Codex which action to take.
Maybe an idea pops into your head while you're at the gym working out. From your phone, you send that thought to Codex, which starts putting it into action with some new code.
"From your phone, you can start work when it is top of mind, unblock it when your judgment is needed, and stay close to the result as it takes shape," OpenAI said in its announcement.
