AINov 4, 2026, 7:07 AM UTC·2 min read

OpenAI to retire ChatGPT Classic desktop app on January 30, 2027

OpenAI will shut down the original ChatGPT desktop app on January 30, 2027, and is preparing to merge the Chat and Work tabs in the redesigned app.

ChatGPT desktop app window on a laptop screen showing a retirement banner for the Classic version — Image: 01net.com

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OpenAI has set a retirement date for ChatGPT Classic, the original desktop app. A banner inside the app says it will be withdrawn on January 30, 2027, and the full conversation history will move automatically to the new application.

A redesign that never convinced everyone

In July, OpenAI replaced its desktop app with a new version that brings ChatGPT, Work and Codex into one window, and renamed the old app ChatGPT Classic. The reception was poor enough that co-founder Greg Brockman described the interface as "a bit of a mess". Some users stayed on Classic to avoid the new design, which also moved from a native app to a heavier Electron build. On OpenAI's forums, some are already asking the company to reverse course, and nothing suggests a reprieve is planned.

The company's reasoning is practical. Recent models rely on features exclusive to the new app, such as the setting for reasoning effort, so Classic becomes less reliable as the service evolves. OpenAI has barely updated it since the summer.

Chat and Work tabs set to merge

OpenAI has already backtracked once, adding a direct switch between the Chat and Work tabs, plus a sidebar to reach Codex. In the coming weeks it will go further and test an interface with a small group of users in which the two tabs become one. Brockman had hoped the Work tab would disappear by the end of the year.

Codex will stay a separate experience but will share a single usage allowance with ChatGPT, so users draw from one quota for both chatting and coding.

The move fits a pattern of pruning. In October, the Atlas browser was dropped a year after launch, with ChatGPT instead running directly in Google Chrome. On February 13, GPT-4o and three other models were retired despite protests from subscribers, who had earlier won a first reprieve. Each time, OpenAI cites the same goal: simplifying its lineup.

For Classic holders, the countdown is a little under three months. The migration requires no action for chat history, but the interface they avoided will become the only one available just as it changes again.