# Claude and ChatGPT: the same idea (/claude-and-chatgpt-2/behind-the-screen/claude-and-chatgpt-the-same-idea)

---
type: Document
title: "Claude and ChatGPT: the same idea"
description: "How Claude and ChatGPT use the same basic team for long, hands-on work, why both arrived at the same design, and what is confirmed for each."
status: stable
order: 0.38
ksor:
  owner: team:panaversity
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    by: process:panaversity
    at: 2026-11-09T20:42:36Z
chapter: "F00B"
part: Front
expert_status: required
concepts: [ "The same idea" ]
last_verified: 2026-11-09
sources:
  - id: sandbox-claude
    title: "Use Claude Code in the cloud (Anthropic, verified 2026-11-09)"
    resource: https://code.claude.com/docs/en/claude-code-on-the-web
  - id: sandbox-openai
    title: "ChatGPT Work cloud security (OpenAI, verified 2026-11-09)"
    resource: https://learn.chatgpt.com/docs/enterprise/chatgpt-work-cloud-security
  - id: claude-and-chatgpt-2-tour
    title: "Tour of the Apps, for every product detail and its source"
    resource: "../tour/side-by-side.md"
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  at: 2026-11-09T20:42:36Z
  by: process:panaversity
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---

Claude and ChatGPT were built by different companies, but for long, hands-on work they use the same basic team. The Tour's [Side by side](../tour/side-by-side.md) page compares every feature. Here is the team view.

| Part | In Claude | In ChatGPT |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Project manager (harness)** | Claude Code, on your computer and in Claude Code's cloud sessions | Codex, documented for agent work. OpenAI says ChatGPT's [Work tab](../tour/chatgpt.md) uses it for its cloud tasks.[^sandbox-openai] |
| **Borrowed desk (sandbox)** | A desk for each cloud session, taken back after a quiet period and replaced with a fresh one[^sandbox-claude] | A desk that Work may reuse across tasks, or replace while keeping saved work[^sandbox-openai] |
| **Consultant (model)** | Claude, on Anthropic's servers | GPT, on OpenAI's servers |
| **Scheduled tasks** | Yes | Yes |

Why did both arrive at the same design? Because they face the same problems:

- The model forgets, so something must keep notes and run the steps.
- Real work needs a computer, and that computer must be sealed for safety.
- Work must continue when you close your laptop, so it runs in the cloud.
- The AI can be wrong or tricked, so the final yes must sit outside it.

We examined a Claude borrowed desk directly. For ChatGPT, the picture comes mostly from OpenAI's own documents. Regular ChatGPT chat may work differently. It is not confirmed that every ChatGPT conversation uses the Codex harness. Anthropic does not name the harness behind regular chat, or behind tasks in a conversation, either.

Next, [From helper to AI Worker](from-helper-to-ai-worker.md) shows what a business adds around these apps.

[^sandbox-claude]: As verified on November 9, 2026, Anthropic says "Cloud sessions stop after a period of inactivity and the session's VM is reclaimed", and that reopening the session provisions "a fresh VM". Use Claude Code in the cloud, Anthropic.
[^sandbox-openai]: As verified on November 9, 2026, OpenAI says "Work Cloud uses the Codex task-execution harness", that Work and Codex "share core execution and isolation mechanisms", and that "Work can reuse an environment across tasks or replace it while preserving eligible state". OpenAI's page covers Work's cloud tasks, not regular chat. ChatGPT Work cloud security, OpenAI.