OpenAI's ChatGPT Work Targets Claude Cowork's Enterprise Lead

The enterprise agent race sharpened this week as OpenAI launched a direct competitive response to Anthropic’s Claude Cowork, while Elon Musk offered a surprising public endorsement of the company he spent months criticizing.

Key points

• OpenAI launched ChatGPT Work, an AI agent combining its chatbot with coding tool Codex, powered by the new GPT-5.6 model, on July 10.
• The product is a stated answer to Anthropic’s Claude Cowork, which Anthropic launched in January as a multi-step autonomous task agent for non-coders.
• Both companies have confidentially filed for IPOs and are competing heavily for enterprise business, which sources describe as more lucrative than consumer markets.
• OpenAI emphasized price as a differentiator, with an analyst noting its smallest 5.6 model performs comparably to the largest version at one-fifth the cost.
• Elon Musk reversed earlier criticism of Anthropic, recently calling the company the “leader in AI.”

OpenAI takes aim at Claude Cowork

ChatGPT Work, which began rolling out Thursday to Pro, Enterprise, and Edu users, lets non-technical workers create documents, presentations, and websites using AI coding capabilities. It runs on GPT-5.6, a model whose launch was delayed last month at the U.S. government’s request over national security concerns. Three model sizes launched simultaneously.

The positioning is deliberate. OpenAI product manager Ty Geri described the 5.6 model as “competitive with models that are far, far more expensive at twice the speed and much, much cheaper.” That framing points squarely at the premium pricing associated with frontier models like those Anthropic offers. Analyst Max Weinbach of Creative Strategies added that the smallest version of the new model can complete agentic tasks about as well as the largest, a meaningful development for cost-sensitive enterprise buyers.

Anthropic’s Claude Cowork launched roughly six months ahead of ChatGPT Work, giving it a head start in the autonomous agent category for professionals. Whether that early-mover advantage translates into durable enterprise contracts is a question both companies’ IPO filings will eventually need to answer.

Why enterprise competition matters for Anthropic’s IPO prospects

Forbes notes that both Anthropic and OpenAI have confidentially filed for what it describes as historic IPOs, with revenue growth and corporate strategy as key differentiators investors will scrutinize. Enterprise contracts carry higher margins and more predictable revenue than consumer subscriptions, making the Cowork-vs-ChatGPT Work battle directly relevant to how public market investors will value each company.

Anthropic’s January launch of Claude Cowork positioned it as the early standard-bearer in the professional agentic tools category. OpenAI’s response, arriving with an aggressive price argument, suggests that cost, not capability alone, will be the primary competitive axis. That dynamic could pressure Anthropic’s pricing power in enterprise deals at a moment when it is trying to build the revenue profile that supports a credible public offering.

Does Musk’s reversal signal anything?

Business Insider reports that Musk has recently called Anthropic the “leader in AI,” a notable shift from repeated past criticism of the company. The sources do not specify the exact context or platform where he made the remarks, so the full framing is unclear. Musk operates xAI, which competes with both Anthropic and OpenAI, making the comment unusual on its face.

Whether the reversal reflects a genuine assessment, a tactical softening, or something else entirely is hard to say from what the reporting provides. For investors tracking sentiment around Anthropic ahead of a public offering, it is a data point worth filing rather than over-interpreting. Competitor acknowledgment carries some signal, but Musk’s public statements have historically moved between positions quickly.

What to watch

The Claude Cowork product’s market traction over the next quarter will be a meaningful indicator heading into any IPO roadshow. If OpenAI’s price-competitive entry captures enterprise clients that were evaluating Anthropic, that could show up in the revenue metrics both companies are expected to disclose as part of their public filing processes. The comparison Forbes sets up between the two IPO candidates suggests investors are already framing these companies as a pair, which means competitive wins and losses will be read in relative terms.