OpenAI and Anthropic Intensify AI Coding Race with Advanced Tools

You can use OpenAI's super powerful AI coding agent Codex for just $20 now

OpenAI sent another earthquake rocking across the software engineering world today. This time, it was the X announcement that Codex, its AI coding agent, is now available for Plus tier users. In other words, you no longer have to spend $200/mo to get Codex's programming help. Instead, you can get it for $20/mo, as part of the ChatGPT Plus subscription. (Disclosure: Ziff Davis, ZDNET's parent company, filed an April 2025 lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.) The company says Codex "includes generous usage limits for a limited time, but during periods of high demand, we might set rate limits for Plus users so that Codex remains widely available." In other words, performance today might be rough. Also: OpenAI upgrades ChatGPT with Codex - and I'm seriously impressed (so far) That didn't stop me from digging in. There's a new menu item on the right of the ChatGPT screen: Interestingly, the Mac app version of ChatGPT is far more limited. If you launch ChatGPT through the app, not only will you not get Codex, but Search Chats, Library, and Sora are also missing. That's kind of an unforced error, especially since the Mac app updated yesterday. Also: The best AI for coding in 2025 (and what not to use) In any case, let's see what happens when you click the Codex button in Plus. First, you'll get this exciting start screen. Next is an animation that describes some features of the tool. In this first frame, the tool explains that it will draft multiple PRs in parallel. PR stands for Push Request, and that's GitHub-speak for pulling changes into the main repository, essentially integrating it into the main codebase. By saying Codex drafts multiple PRs, it means it can work on multiple coding projects, but none get committed until you've done a review. This is roughly the equivalent of giving a bunch of projects to some subordinate programmers, letting them work on it, but not including their code until you examine it carefully. You will examine Codex's code carefully, won't you? Hint. You better. Next is a sample prompt. It's basically showing how you can prompt Codex to dig through the entire repo of a codebase to make changes and tweaks. Next, Codex apparently can run Lint and tests. Lint, which was originally a C language tool that detects errors and bugs in code, works with many different languages. What Codex is saying here is that it's capable of running coding validation check, creating tests, and running those tests to confirm the code changes work as expected. This is a good thing. Finally, one more panel describes the use of a new coding model specifically for software engineering. The company doesn't explicitly specify that model, but ChatGPT speculated that the model is a tuned version of GPT-4o, specifically trained on software engineering applications. And then, I was finally in. The next form provided connection to a GitHub repository. This is very reminiscent of the process I went through with the Google Jules coding model last week. I'm telling you, these AI features are in lockstep among these competitors. I was about to move forward and start playing around with Codex, when I noticed a message at the bottom of the screen. This references a feature mentioned in the X posting by OpenAI this morning: You can now give Codex access to the internet during task execution to install base dependencies, run tests that need external resources, upgrade or install packages needed to build new features, and more. And that's when I decided it's time to stop. It's not even 7 a.m. here, I haven't even finished my first cup of coffee, and I want to get this news out to you as soon as possible. But I'm not comfortable, foggy morning head and all, letting Codex loose on my main repo, or thinking through the implications of giving it internet access. Also: Google's Jules AI coding agent built a new feature I could actually ship - while I made coffee That said, I will share with you one interesting discovery I made while the caffeine was starting to boost my brain. Apparently, Codex is stateless. This means that it doesn't remember anything from session to session. So you need to build clear and complete prompts, and make sure those prompts are repeated in new sessions if they set up ground rules or otherwise are designed to calibrate Codex on its work. And with that, I'll wrap up this quick hit intro article. I'll be back soon with some hands-on tests to see what this beastie can do. Stay tuned. Are you planning on trying out new Codex coding agent in ChatGPT Plus? What are your thoughts on letting connect to the internet to install dependencies? Do you feel comfortable giving it access to your codebase, or do you have concerns about automation at this level? What features are you most excited or nervous about? Let us know in the comments below.

OpenAI, Anthropic Race to See Who Can Replace Software Engineers Faster

OpenAI and Anthropic are taking things up a notch with dueling coding tools that might have software engineers worried about job security. ChatGPT Plus subscribers ($20 per month) can now access the Codex programming tool from the main menu, which OpenAI envisions as a way to incorporate AI agents that "increasingly resemble asynchronous collaboration with colleagues." The update comes weeks after Anthropic released an update to its Claude chatbot, which it says makes it "the world's best coding model" and sets "new standards for coding, advanced reasoning, and AI agents." These tools are geared toward professional, or at least advanced, programmers -- not at-home tinkerers. Businesses could save some serious cash by replacing engineers with AI, and companies like OpenAI and Anthropic are eager to enroll them in monthly subscriptions. Entry-level engineers might be the first to go; Anthropic's CEO warns that AI could automate 50% of starter jobs across industries as soon as 2030. Codex helps engineers "move faster," OpenAI says. It connects to GitHub, where an engineer might house their codebase, and can help answer "codebase questions, execute code, and draft pull requests." It can also draft code, find bugs, suggest improvements, and run tests. OpenAI says the model behind Codex is new and "fine-tuned to work in large codebases." In addition to making Codex available for Plus subscribers, OpenAI made the tool more user-friendly and powerful by adding internet access, the "most requested feature." You can also now make verbal requests to Codex with a voice-dictation tool. Before using any commercial AI tool for coding assistance, make sure to check your company's privacy and data-sharing policies. Samsung fired a group of engineers for pasting proprietary code into ChatGPT in 2022. The Claude Code tool, meanwhile, integrates directly into a programmer's workspace, or development environment, and helps them "code faster through natural language commands." It promises to help with a wide range of core coding tasks, such as editing files, fixing bugs, answering architecture questions, running texts, and browsing documentation. It also works with Amazon Bedrock and Google Vertex AI, two popular enterprise coding tools. It's all a push to make "vibe coding" the new normal. That's an AI-based style of programming that uses natural language text prompts to generate code, rather than manually writing it line by line. While ChatGPT was first to make headlines for its coding chops, including passing a Google coding interview, Claude has pulled ahead and is generally understood to be slightly better than ChatGPT. "Yes, it's honestly crazy -- ChatGPT has become almost useless for serious coding work," someone responded. "The quality has dropped significantly, and it feels like it's now just a 'mainstream AI' focused on casual use rather than professional development." A Redditor finds ChatGPT better for back-end functions, and prefers Claude for front-end tasks, although that comment was about Claude's previous model, Sonnet 3.7. Claude does have a workplace-focused mission, its chief product officer told us in an October interview. ChatGPT, meanwhile, has recently found success with widely appealing products such as its new image generator. However, it's possible ChatGPT's wide appeal and name recognition could draw in more coders at all levels, from hobbyists to professionals. When speaking at an AI summit in Mexico this week, OpenAI executives mentioned that its next model, GPT-5, will help the company "compete more" against rivals in the AI-assisted coding space, according to Bleeping Computer. It could launch as soon as this summer, but OpenAI has not disclosed any launch details. Making tools like Codex more widely available may help keep it compelling in the meantime. Disclosure: Ziff Davis, PCMag's parent company, filed a lawsuit against OpenAI in April 2025, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.