OpenAI adds Chrome extension to Codex as Australia surges
Fri, 8th May 2026 (Yesterday)
OpenAI has launched a Chrome extension for Codex on macOS and Windows, as use of Codex in Australia has risen sharply since January.
The extension lets the coding tool work directly inside Chrome when tasks require a user's signed-in browser state. This includes websites and applications such as LinkedIn, Salesforce, Gmail and internal tools that depend on an active logged-in session.
Codex can run tasks across multiple tabs in the background without taking over the browser session. It groups work into Chrome tab groups so activity tied to one thread stays together.
The launch expands Codex beyond its existing use in ChatGPT, desktop software, command-line tools and development environment integrations. OpenAI describes Codex as a coding agent that can write features, fix bugs, answer questions about codebases, run tests and propose pull requests across repositories and environments.
Browser access
The Chrome extension is intended for tasks that need access to websites where a user is already signed in. For local development servers, file-backed previews and public pages that do not require sign-in, users are advised to rely first on Codex's in-app browser rather than their Chrome profile.
Codex can switch between tools depending on the job, using a dedicated plugin where available, Chrome when a logged-in browser context is needed, and the in-app browser for localhost work. This gives developers a way to route different parts of a workflow through separate environments.
OpenAI has added controls around website access. By default, Codex asks before interacting with each new website host, and users can allow access for the current chat, always allow a host, or decline it.
Settings also let users manage allowlists and blocklists for domains. Removing a site from the allowlist means Codex will ask again before using it, while removing a site from the blocklist lets Codex request access again instead of treating the domain as permanently blocked.
Data controls
Browser history can contain sensitive telemetry, internal URLs, search terms and activity from Chrome sessions on signed-in devices. If users let Codex access browser history, relevant entries can become part of the context it uses for a task.
Codex asks when it wants to use browser history, and that access is limited to the request in question. There is no always-allow option for browser history.
Chrome itself asks users to accept permissions when installing the extension. Those permissions may include access to the page debugger, website data, browsing history, notifications, bookmarks, downloads, native applications and tab groups.
Those permissions allow the extension to carry out browser workflows, but Codex still relies on its own confirmations, settings, allowlists and blocklists before using websites or browser history during a task.
OpenAI does not keep a separate complete record of Chrome actions carried out through the extension. Instead, it stores browser activity only when it becomes part of the Codex context, such as text read from a page, screenshots, tool calls, summaries, messages or other content included in a thread.
Australian growth
OpenAI said adoption of Codex in Australia has increased sixfold among consumers and 13-fold among enterprise users since January. The figures point to broader take-up of coding assistants in a market where companies have been testing AI tools across software development, support and back-office work.
The release also underlines how AI developers are pushing their tools deeper into everyday work software rather than limiting them to standalone chat windows. Access to a signed-in browser session could make it easier for coding agents to interact with business systems behind login pages, though it also raises questions about data exposure and user oversight.
OpenAI said users remain in control of which websites Codex can use and warned them to treat page content as untrusted context and review a website before allowing the tool to continue.
For file uploads from a local machine, users must separately allow the extension to access file URLs in Chrome settings before retrying the task.
Codex follows the user's Memories setting during browser use. If Memories is on, Codex can use relevant saved memories while working in Chrome. If Memories is off, browser use does not draw on memories.