The ChatGPT Chrome extension can use tabs you share with it to answer questions. With browser control in Work, it can also click, type, fill forms, download files and organise tabs. You decide which sites it may use. Before giving it access to an account or a payment page, it is worth understanding where those permissions stop.
What the ChatGPT Chrome extension can do now
You can ask ChatGPT to compare products across the tabs you have open or explain a long page without copying it into a new chat. With browser control enabled, it can carry out a multi-step task, such as gathering details from several tabs or filling a form. Read the result and review a form yourself before submitting it.
| Chat | Work | |
|---|---|---|
| Uses tabs you share or allow | Yes, to answer questions | Yes |
| Clicks, types and fills forms | No | Yes, after you allow the site |
| Downloads files, sends messages | No | Yes |
| Organises and groups tabs | No | Yes |
| Best for | Research and comparisons | Repetitive browser chores |
The side chat has improved too. Your full ChatGPT history now shows up next to the page, so you can open an old chat, ask about the current tab, or switch between Chat and Work without leaving the site. Chats you start in the side panel also appear in the ChatGPT app.
There are smaller additions as well. You can highlight text and send just that passage to ChatGPT, right-click a page and choose Ask ChatGPT, or ask about a YouTube video. When captions are available, ChatGPT uses the video’s timestamped transcript.
Which plan do you need?
OpenAI’s extension guide does not give a clear plan-by-plan list for Chat and Work in Chrome. It says availability can depend on rollout and workspace settings. OpenAI has described different access rules for Work on the web and mobile, but that does not confirm the same rules for browser control through the extension. Check which modes appear in your ChatGPT app before relying on it for a task.
How to set up ChatGPT in Chrome
For the side chat, install the ChatGPT extension from the Chrome Web Store, sign in, then open ChatGPT from the toolbar or the Extensions menu. On a Mac you can also press Cmd+Shift+.. To let ChatGPT control the browser from the desktop app, follow OpenAI’s setup steps:
- Update the ChatGPT desktop app.
- Open Settings > Computer Use and select Chrome. Expand More browsers if you use Edge, Brave, Opera or Vivaldi.
- Select Install, add the extension from the store page and review Chrome’s permission prompt.
- Go back to Computer Use and confirm that the browser shows Manage.
- Start a new Work or Codex chat and mention the browser, for example
@Chrome, with your task. Use the Chrome profile where the extension is installed.
Side chat works in Chrome, Edge, Brave and Vivaldi. Opera supports tab mentions and browser control from the desktop app, but not the side panel. If a task needs to upload a file from your computer, turn on Allow access to file URLs in the extension’s details page in Chrome.
Permissions and privacy: read this before you allow it
To make this work, the extension asks for a lot. OpenAI’s documentation says Chrome’s install prompt can include reading and changing your data on all websites, reading and changing your browsing history on all your signed-in devices, managing downloads and bookmarks, and access to the page debugger. ChatGPT then adds its own checks on top.
- Per-site approval. By default, ChatGPT asks before it uses each new website. You can choose Allow once, Allow for this site, Allow for all sites, or Decline.
- History is asked each time. Browser history access applies only to the current request, and there is no always-allow option.
- Allowlists and blocklists. In the desktop app, Settings > Computer Use > Manage lets you list sites ChatGPT may use or must avoid. The list is shared across your browsers.
- What OpenAI keeps. OpenAI says it does not keep a separate full record of browser actions. Page content, screenshots, messages and other context used in a task may become part of the chat, where your usual ChatGPT data controls apply.
- Memory. If Memories is on, ChatGPT can use saved memories while it works in your browser. If Memories is off, browser control does not use them.
OpenAI also warns that page content should be treated as untrusted, because a malicious page can try to steer the agent. My take: never choose “Allow for all sites.” Use a separate Chrome profile for agent tasks, and keep net banking, UPI apps on the web, DigiLocker, income tax and other government portals on your blocklist. Let ChatGPT fill a form, then read it yourself before you press submit.
How it compares with Gemini in Chrome
Google already has its own agent inside Chrome. Gemini in Chrome and Auto Browse are built into the browser, with their own daily limits and language requirements. OpenAI uses an extension and the ChatGPT desktop app; unlike Gemini in Chrome, its browser controls also work in Edge, Brave, Opera and Vivaldi. Opera does not get the side chat.
If you already use one of these assistants, try it on a small task first, such as comparing two open pages. Browser control depends on the access you grant and the mode available to your account, so do not assume the same task works in both.
FAQ
Is the ChatGPT Chrome extension free?
The extension is free to install. OpenAI’s current extension guide does not spell out a plan-by-plan list for Chrome’s Chat and Work controls; availability may vary by rollout and workspace. Check the modes shown in your app and your plan’s usage limits.
Can ChatGPT submit a form after I allow a site?
Site access and approval of a specific action are not the same thing. Do not assume every form submission will get a separate confirmation. Tell ChatGPT to stop before submitting, then check the details yourself, especially on banking, payment and government sites.
Does it work in Edge or Brave?
Yes. The extension supports Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Brave, Opera and Vivaldi. Opera does not get the side chat, so tasks there start from the desktop app.
Can I see what ChatGPT did in my browser?
The task chat shows context ChatGPT used, but it is not a separate, complete browser-activity log. To stop ChatGPT using a site, add it to your blocklist under Settings > Computer Use > Manage.
