OpenAI has launched a surprisingly cute new feature for its Codex app: AI-generated pets that float alongside your workspace.
The company introduced these “optional animated companions” to the coding assistant application. Unlike the main Codex agent, these pets don’t write or fix any code. Instead, they act as a friendly overlay on your screen. They let you know what Codex is working on, send a notification when a task is finished, and tell you when the app needs your input.
The main benefit is convenience. Developers can see what Codex is doing in real time without switching away from their current open app.
- OpenAI plans to release an Agentic AI-powered smartphone in 2028
- Study finds too much reliance on AI reduces persistence and lowers performance of humans
To bring a pet into view, users simply type “/pet” into the Codex app. The same command dismisses it. OpenAI included eight built-in pets to choose from. But the real fun comes with the “/hatch” command, which lets you generate a completely custom companion using AI. Want a cute goblin buddy? You can hatch one.
Early users have already uploaded many custom designs, including several versions of Microsoft’s old Clippy assistant.
The pet feature is available now on both the Windows and macOS versions of Codex.