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ChatGPT Chrome extension: how to let ChatGPT use your tabs and do the work

OpenAI upgraded the ChatGPT extension for Chrome on October 15, 2026. Chat reads your open tabs; Work fills out forms, sends messages and downloads files. Setup, permissions and safe first jobs.

The full walkthrough.

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WHAT THIS ADDSMost coverage calls this 'ChatGPT reads your tabs'. The bigger change for an owner is Work: ChatGPT acting inside the sites you are already signed in to, like Gmail, LinkedIn or Salesforce. That makes it genuinely useful for the boring admin you do in a browser (comparing quotes, filling the same form, moving vendor details into a sheet), and it is also why the permission you pick matters. Start with Allow once, give it read-and-compare jobs first, and end any form job with 'stop before submitting' so you keep the final click.

What OpenAI announced on October 15

On October 15, 2026 OpenAI's ChatGPT account posted that it was "bringing the power of computer use to anyone who uses Chrome". The same day the ChatGPT extension in the Chrome Web Store (offered by OpenAI) was updated.

OpenAI described two ways it now works with your tabs:

  • Chat: ChatGPT can look across your open tabs and gather information for its answer.
  • Work: ChatGPT can control your Chrome tabs to get things done, such as sending messages, filling out forms or downloading files. It can also help organise and group the tabs you have open.

OpenAI also said ChatGPT now runs in a side chat right inside a Chrome tab, with your ChatGPT history there, and that the extension is available for all ChatGPT plans.

How to set it up

These steps follow OpenAI's own browser extension guide:

  1. Update the ChatGPT desktop app first.
  2. In the desktop app, open Settings → Computer Use. Expand More browsers if yours is not listed.
  3. Select your browser and click Install. That opens the extension's store page. Install the ChatGPT extension (check it says Offered by OpenAI) and review its permission prompts.
  4. Go back to Computer Use and check the browser now shows Manage.
  5. Start a ChatGPT Work (or Codex) chat and pick your browser with an @-mention, for example @Chrome. Use the Chrome profile where you installed the extension.

You can also @-mention a single open tab to give ChatGPT that page as context.

Chat or Work: which one to use

Use Chat when you only want ChatGPT to read: compare three supplier pages, explain an article, check which pricing plan covers what you need. Nothing on the page is changed.

Use Work when you want it to act: copy details into a sheet, fill out a form, draft and send a message, download a file. OpenAI's guide says ChatGPT can read or act on sites where you're already signed in, such as LinkedIn, Salesforce, Gmail or internal tools, because it works inside your normal browser profile.

The permission prompt: pick the right option

By default ChatGPT asks before it interacts with each new website, based on the site's address (for example example.com). You get four choices:

  • Allow once: use the website one time.
  • Allow for this site: use it again without asking.
  • Allow for all sites: use any website without asking. OpenAI marks this Elevated Risk.
  • Decline: ChatGPT can't use the website.

Our advice: Allow once while you are learning, Allow for this site only for tools you use daily, and leave Allow for all sites off.

Which browsers it works in

OpenAI's guide lists Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Brave, Opera and Vivaldi. All five support tab mentions and browser control from the desktop app. Side chat works in Chrome, Edge, Brave and Vivaldi, but not Opera. OpenAI notes that availability can depend on rollout and your workspace settings, so if you don't see it yet, update the app and check again.

Stay safe while it clicks for you

  • OpenAI says to treat page content as untrusted and review the website before letting ChatGPT continue. A page can contain text written to mislead an AI.
  • Avoid sending passwords, card numbers or other secrets through browser tasks unless they're needed and you are there to review each prompt.
  • For any form, end your prompt with "stop before submitting". OpenAI's own example prompt does exactly this.
  • Watch the first few runs. Give it more freedom only once the results are right.

Good first jobs for a small business

OpenAI's own examples include these, and they map well to everyday admin:

Put the vendors in these tabs into my comparison sheet, with pricing, key features, and source links.
Compare these pricing pages against our requirements. Which plan includes everything we need?
Use the details in this event brief to fill out the registration form, and stop before submitting.
Look at all the tabs I have open and compare the contractor services. Then draft an email to the one that fits.

More ideas of our own: compare three supplier quotes side by side, pull a lead's public details from their website into your CRM notes, or group a messy window of tabs by project. There are 20 ready-to-paste prompts in the free prompt pack below.

DO THISInstall the ChatGPT extension (offered by OpenAI), start a Work chat in ChatGPT and type @Chrome, then give it the job. Use Chat to read and compare, Work to fill forms, send messages and download files. Choose Allow once on new sites, and end form jobs with 'stop before submitting'.

Questions people also ask

What can the ChatGPT Chrome extension do now?

Since October 15, 2026, ChatGPT can use your open Chrome tabs. In Chat it reads across them to answer; in Work it can control them to send messages, fill out forms, download files and group tabs.

Is the ChatGPT Chrome extension free?

OpenAI said the extension is available for all ChatGPT plans. OpenAI's guide also notes availability can depend on rollout and workspace settings.

How do I connect ChatGPT to Chrome?

Update the ChatGPT desktop app, open Settings, Computer Use, install the ChatGPT extension for Chrome, check it shows Manage, then start a Work chat and type @Chrome.

Can ChatGPT use sites I'm logged in to?

Yes. OpenAI's guide says it can read or act on sites where you're already signed in, such as LinkedIn, Salesforce or Gmail, because it works in your normal browser profile.

Will ChatGPT use websites without asking me?

Not by default. It asks before it interacts with each new website, and you choose Allow once, Allow for this site, Allow for all sites (marked Elevated Risk) or Decline.

Does it work in Edge, Brave or Safari?

OpenAI lists Chrome, Edge, Brave, Opera and Vivaldi. Safari is not on that list.

Sources

What Fynl.io is, and where it fits

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