OpenAI's Codex lead: 'ChatGPT Work == Codex' and the internal meme that shifted the vibe
soumitrashukla9 · x · 2026-09-03
Lenny Rachitsky interviews Tara Seshan, who leads product for Codex and ChatGPT Work at OpenAI.
- Key clarification: ChatGPT Work == Codex — they're the same product line
- Seshan says the internal vibe shift toward Codex required nothing deliberate — "people just started noticing"
- A core internal meme at OpenAI: "Are you mainlining it yet?" — are you using the product all day, depending on it, and applying your taste to whether people actually want it
- Her rule for building on frontier models: build for where the models will be, not where they are
A first-hand look at OpenAI's internal product culture around coding tools.
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