ChatGPT can now schedule tasks and send reminders

What's new

Around January 14, 2025, OpenAI launched a beta version of Tasks in ChatGPT. It lets you ask ChatGPT to do something later or repeat it at regular intervals. That could be a one-time task, a reminder or a task that runs again and again.

TechCrunch cites examples such as a news summary every day at 7 a.m., a weekend plan every Friday based on where you live and the weather, or a monthly check on whether concert tickets are on sale. OpenAI itself describes the feature like this: "Schedule tasks you want ChatGPT to do, such as send you a weekly global news briefing, get a daily personalized 15-minute workout".

What's smart about it

Until now, you had to open ChatGPT yourself and ask the question. Now ChatGPT comes to you. When a task is done, you get a notification as a push alert or an email.

You turn it on by choosing the model option "4o with scheduled tasks." Tasks are managed in chat threads and on a dedicated tasks page. ChatGPT can also suggest tasks on its own based on your conversation, but you have to approve them before they start.

Cheaper or better?

Tasks is rolling out globally to paying users on Plus, Team and Pro. Free users don't have access, and no date has been announced for them. The sources don't say whether there is a separate price for the feature, and they don't specify what the rollout looks like in Denmark and the EU.

There are limits during the beta period. You can have at most 10 active tasks at a time. The tasks page is only available in the web version during the beta. Tasks can also be set up in chat on other platforms. Advanced Voice Mode (ChatGPT's voice conversation) is not supported. Neither is setting up tasks by voice or uploading files. Tasks also can't make purchases and can't run continuous background searches.

The Decoder compares the feature to Siri, Google Assistant and Alexa, which have long been able to set reminders, but judges that Tasks has limited agent functionality. An agent is an AI that can start working on tasks for you on its own. At the time, OpenAI was developing an agent called Operator.

What it's good for

Tasks suits regular routines where you want new information delivered without having to ask: a morning news overview, a weekly plan, a workout idea every day or a regular check on something online, such as tickets.

For companies and teams on a Team subscription, it could be a simple way to have repetitive small tasks handled automatically. But keep the limits in mind: no purchases, the tasks page is web-only during the beta, the feature is not yet widely available in the mobile app, though notifications can be received on mobile, and there can only be 10 tasks at a time. TechCrunch reports that Sam Altman has said 2025 will be a big year for AI agents, and Tasks was seen as a first step in that direction.