OpenAI introduces task scheduling and web monitoring inside ChatGPT

ChatGPT just got a major Scheduled Tasks update

OpenAI has rolled out a major update to Scheduled Tasks in ChatGPT, making the feature easier to find, manage, and use. Instead of only answering questions when you ask, ChatGPT can now help run certain tasks automatically at scheduled times.

Scheduled Tasks lets you ask ChatGPT to handle reminders, recurring work, or monitoring tasks. You can also ask it to check for meaningful updates on topics or connected apps and notify you when there is something worth reporting.

What exactly are Scheduled Tasks?

Think of Scheduled Tasks like setting an alarm on your phone, but with more flexible instructions. You can ask ChatGPT to send reminders, handle recurring work, or monitor changes for you. For example, you could ask it to remind you to call your mom every Sunday at 3 PM or send a daily morning briefing about electric car news.

OpenAI says the updated Scheduled Tasks experience is faster, easier to manage, and more reliable. You can schedule work for exact times or choose broader windows like morning, afternoon, or evening.

Goodbye Pulse, hello scheduled tasks

If you’ve been using ChatGPT’s older proactive feature called Pulse, you’ll want to pay attention to this change. OpenAI is retiring Pulse and replacing it entirely with the new Scheduled Tasks system. Pulse used to do research based on your past chats and deliver visual summaries the next day, but it was pretty limited compared to what’s coming. 

The decision to retire Pulse shows that OpenAI is serious about making ChatGPT more useful for actual work and daily life. They learned from Pulse that people want proactive help that’s personal, action-oriented, and easy to control. 

A new dashboard for all your tasks

One of the coolest parts of this update is the brand-new Scheduled page that appears right in ChatGPT’s sidebar. This is your command center for everything you’ve set up to run automatically. From here, you can see every active task you’ve created, check when each one will run next, and make changes whenever you need to. 

The dashboard makes managing your automated tasks incredibly easy. You can edit tasks right from this page, adjusting times or changing what you want ChatGPT to do. If you need to check the results of a task, you can open it directly from the Scheduled page and see all the responses. 

Little-known fact: You can also manage your tasks directly from your Settings. Just go to Settings, then Notifications, and next to the task notification setting, select Manage tasks to see a complete list of everything you’ve scheduled.

Monitoring tasks that actually help

One of the smartest additions is something called monitoring tasks. Instead of just running on a schedule, these tasks can actively watch for changes and only bother you when something worth knowing happens. For example, you could ask ChatGPT to monitor package delivery updates and let you know the moment your order arrives. 

The monitoring feature remembers previous runs, so it knows what’s new versus what you’ve already seen. If nothing has changed, ChatGPT stays quiet and doesn’t waste your time with useless alerts. This is perfect for people who want to stay informed without checking the same websites over and over. 

How often can tasks run?

There are some limits to keep in mind with Scheduled Tasks. ChatGPT can only run your tasks once per hour at most. So if you were hoping for minute-by-minute updates, you might need to adjust your expectations. This limit makes sense because running tasks too often would use up a lot of computing power and might overwhelm you with notifications anyway.

OpenAI has also built in some safety features to prevent problems. If you stop interacting with a task for a while, it may automatically pause itself. This prevents tasks from running forever in the background when you’re not even using ChatGPT. It’s a smart way to save resources and keep things running smoothly.

How many tasks can you have?

The number of tasks you can run depends on which ChatGPT plan you have. Go users can have up to 3 active tasks, which is fine for light personal use like reminders and simple checks. If you’re a Plus subscriber, you get 5 active tasks to work with. 

If you try to create a new task when you’ve already hit your limit, ChatGPT will let you know. You’ll need to pause or delete an existing task before you can add another one. This keeps things manageable and prevents you from setting up more than you can actually keep track of.

Getting notifications right

Setting up your tasks is only half the battle; you also need to make sure you actually get notified when something happens. OpenAI has made this pretty straightforward with clear notification settings. You can choose to get alerts through push notifications on your phone, via email, or both. 

If you’re using Chrome and notifications are blocked, you’ll see a prompt asking you to allow them. Just click Allow, and your browser will ask for permission. Once you’ve granted access on one device, task notifications will work across any platform where you use ChatGPT. 

Working with your favorite apps

Scheduled Tasks can connect with other apps you use, which opens up even more possibilities. When available for your account, tasks can work with services like Gmail to check for messages or take actions. This integration means you can create tasks that use information from your email, calendar, or other connected services.

For Business and Enterprise users, app availability might depend on what your admin has enabled. Some workplaces limit which apps can be connected or what actions can be taken. Your workspace settings determine what permissions are available, and admins might control persistent permissions or restrict certain actions. In managed workspaces, a task might need approval before using an app.

What tasks can’t be done yet?

While Scheduled Tasks is impressive, there are some limitations worth knowing about. Voice chats aren’t supported with tasks, so you can’t schedule something by speaking to ChatGPT and expect it to run automatically. You’ll need to type out your requests to create scheduled tasks.

Another important limitation is that tasks created in a project with files won’t be able to access those project files. So if you’ve uploaded documents to a project and want a task to analyze them, that won’t work yet. Scheduled tasks also don’t currently support webhooks, which means they’re better for scheduled check-ins rather than event-triggered automations. 

Why might your task pause?

Sometimes you might notice that a scheduled task has paused itself, and there are a few reasons why this happens. The most common cause is simply inactivity. If you haven’t interacted with a task for a while, ChatGPT will automatically pause it to save resources. This is actually a helpful feature because it prevents tasks from running forever in the background when you’re not even using them. 

Another reason a task might pause is if you delete the chat associated with it. Since tasks are connected to specific conversations, removing that conversation will temporarily stop the task. Don’t worry, though, your task isn’t permanently gone. You can go to the Scheduled page and restart it whenever you want. Also, if a task is monitoring something and reaches its end condition, like successfully tracking a package delivery, it will stop on its own.

Little-known fact: OpenAI says proactive work remains an important part of making ChatGPT more useful. With Scheduled Tasks, they’re bringing together everything they learned from Pulse to create a more focused and powerful experience.

The 14-day transition period

OpenAI said Pro users would continue to have access to Pulse for 14 days after the Scheduled Tasks update was announced on June 17, 2026. Users who relied on Pulse for daily updates can ask ChatGPT to schedule a daily briefing based on their interests and past chats.

The change gives users a chance to move recurring briefings, reminders, and monitoring needs into Scheduled Tasks. OpenAI says it is bringing lessons from Pulse into a more focused Scheduled Tasks experience built around proactive updates, recurring help, and user control.

For a look at how rivals are positioning themselves for that future, check out how Anthropic challenges OpenAI in the lucrative professional services market.

What does this mean for you?

This update is a sign that OpenAI is serious about making ChatGPT more useful in your daily life. Instead of just being a tool you ask questions to, it’s becoming something that can actively help you get things done without constant supervision. For people who juggle multiple responsibilities, this could be a real game-changer.

The future of AI assistants is clearly moving toward more automation and proactive help, and ChatGPT is leading the way with “Scheduled Tasks.” While there are still some limitations, the foundation is solid and will likely grow more powerful over time. Whether you’re a busy professional, a student, or just someone who wants to stay organized, this feature gives you new ways to save time and reduce mental load. 

If AI assistants are becoming more capable, the next big question is how much they’ll cost. For a closer look at that debate, check out how OpenAI may cut prices as businesses question the cost of AI.

Thanks for reading! What are your thoughts on the new Scheduled Tasks feature? Drop a comment below and don’t forget to hit that like button if you found this helpful.

This slideshow was made with AI assistance and human editing.

Don’t forget to follow us for more exclusive content on MSN.

Read More From This Brand:

• Agentic AI Raises Serious Security and Privacy Concerns
• Microsoft chief voices concern over growing reports of AI psychosis
• Chrome’s hidden AI install shows how aggressively tech companies are pushing AI