OpenAI published a research paper detailing how its Codex platform has transitioned into the leading AI interface across all its departments, marking a significant change from its original focus on developers. The paper, titled “The Shift to Agentic AI: Evidence from Codex,” provides an analysis of usage data from external individual users, external organizational users, and OpenAI’s workforce.
As of June 11, 2026, Codex comprises 99.8% of output tokens generated at OpenAI, effectively replacing ChatGPT as the primary tool for work-related tasks. Every department, including Legal, Finance, and Recruiting, utilizes Codex, with non-technical departments surpassing majority usage around April 2026, following earlier adoption by engineering teams.
The median employee in a legal role now generates 13 times more monthly output tokens compared to November 2025, while the median researcher produces over 50 times more. The adoption rate of Codex among non-developer users has surged, increasing 137 times among individual users and 189 times among organizational users since August 2025.
Among external organizational account users, 17.3% have now adopted Codex, a significant leap compared to fewer than 1% of individual users. The paper highlights a broader shift from conversational AI to agentic AI, where users delegate complex, multi-step tasks to the platform rather than merely seeking advice. “Users are asking Codex to do work, not only to provide advice or information,” the authors stated.
OpenAI notes that its internal data may not reflect typical enterprise adoption, given favorable conditions such as no usage restrictions and strong organizational support. Currently, Codex accounts for 63.3% of output tokens among external organizational users, while individual users account for 16.5%.
The complexity of tasks submitted by users has also risen significantly, with 25.6% of individuals submitting requests estimated to require over eight hours of human work, up from just 2.1% in December 2025. Codex now boasts over 5 million weekly active users, a sixfold increase since February.
