ChatGPT Has a Pet? What is OpenAI’s ‘Pets’ Feature?

Recently, when using the ChatGPT desktop app or Codex, you might have noticed a small animated character appearing on one side of the screen.

At first glance, it might seem like a simple desktop pet designed to entertain users, but the actual role of this character is a bit different.

The Pets feature added by OpenAI is an animated task monitor that shows the status of tasks being performed by ChatGPT and Codex.

In other words, it’s not just a decorative character, but a user interface designed to make it easier to monitor long-running AI agent tasks.

What are ChatGPT Pets?

OpenAI describes Pets with the following functionality:

An optional animated companion that shows task progress.

The pet floats on the screen while ChatGPT performs a task, indicating through its movements and status whether the current task is in progress, requires user approval, or has been completed.

Changing the type of pet does not alter ChatGPT’s model performance or response style. Only the character’s appearance changes, and it does not affect the behavior of the GPT model or agents.

In summary, Pets are not a new AI model or a separate agent.

Pets 기능
= 애니메이션 캐릭터
+ 작업 상태 표시기
+ 에이전트 알림 인터페이스

Why Does AI Need Pets?

Previously, ChatGPT typically generated answers within a few seconds after a question was entered.

However, recent versions of ChatGPT and Codex have begun to perform complex tasks beyond simple Q&A, such as:

Analyzing multiple files
Writing and testing code
Debugging errors
Navigating websites
Creating documents and presentations
Parallel execution of multiple agents
Long-running development tasks

The Codex app released by OpenAI is designed to run multiple agents simultaneously on different task threads and supervise long-running tasks. Users can do other things or switch to other tasks while an agent modifies code.

The problem is that when AI works for a long time, users have to keep the task screen open to check for completion.

Pets were created to alleviate this inconvenience.

In OpenAI’s Codex Lab demonstration, it was explained that pets notify users when a task is complete or requires user confirmation, thereby reducing the need for users to continuously monitor the task screen.

While it may seem like the addition of a cute character, it is actually a feature designed to solve the following problems:

기존 방식

사용자 → 작업 화면 확인
       → 아직 실행 중
       → 다시 확인
       → 또 확인
       → 작업 완료 확인

Pets 사용

사용자 → 작업 요청
       → 다른 업무 수행
       → 펫이 완료 또는 승인 필요 상태 표시
       → 해당 작업 확인

Four Task States Displayed by Pets

ChatGPT Pets categorize task states into four main types:


Status	Meaning
Running	ChatGPT is currently performing a task
Needs input	Approval, response, or user decision is required
Ready	The task is complete, and there are unconfirmed items
Blocked	The task failed or a system error occurred

If multiple tasks are running simultaneously, the pet does not display all tasks randomly.

According to OpenAI documentation, importance is determined in the following order:

Needs input
→ Blocked
→ Ready
→ Running

That is, tasks requiring user judgment are shown first, followed by tasks with errors and completed tasks. Selecting a pet or an activity list will take you to the corresponding ChatGPT task screen.

This feature is particularly useful when running multiple coding or document creation tasks simultaneously.

How to Use in ChatGPT Desktop App

In the ChatGPT desktop app, pets can be used as an overlay floating above other applications.

Here’s how to set it up:

ChatGPT 데스크톱 앱
→ 프로필 메뉴
→ Pets
→ 사용할 펫 선택

Alternatively, you can also set it up from the following menu:

Settings
→ Pets
→ Built-in Pet 또는 Custom Pet 선택

After selecting a pet, execute the following command in the input field:

/pet

You can also summon the pet by selecting “Wake Pet” from the command menu.

To hide the pet, re-enter the /pet command or select “Tuck Away Pet”. The pet’s position and selection state are maintained even if you restart the app.

Can it be Used in Web ChatGPT?

If the Pets feature is enabled for your account and workspace, you can also select a pet in Web ChatGPT.

Settings
→ Personalization
→ Pet
→ Select pet

However, the behavior of the web version and desktop version differs.

Pets in Web ChatGPT appear within the supported ChatGPT Work task screen. Unlike the desktop app, it does not provide an overlay floating above other programs, an activity tray to check multiple tasks, or the /pet command.


Feature	Desktop App	Web ChatGPT
Display pet character	Possible	Possible
Display over other apps	Possible	Not possible
/pet command	Possible	Not possible
Check multiple task statuses	Possible	Limited
User-created pets	Possible	Uploadable

Therefore, the ChatGPT desktop app is more suitable for fully utilizing the Pets feature.

You Can Also Create Your Own Custom Pets

The most interesting part of the Pets feature is that users can create their own characters.

In the ChatGPT desktop app, select the following menu:

Settings
→ Pets
→ Create your own pet

Running this feature installs ChatGPT’s built-in hatch-pet skill and opens a new task. You can then describe the desired character’s form in natural language to create an animated pet.

For example, you can request as follows:

Create a small blue cloud security robot pet
with a shield, terminal screen, and playful animations.

For a character for a security expert, you can use a prompt like this:

Create a cute cybersecurity guardian pet.

The character should be a small blue robot
holding a glowing shield.

Include animations for:
- working
- waiting for approval
- task completed
- system error

It’s also possible to create a pet that resembles your own pet by referencing its photo. OpenAI demonstrated the process of creating a custom pet based on a cat photo in an official demo, explaining that it internally uses image generation technology to create a sprite sheet containing multiple animation frames.

Custom pets created in the desktop app are stored locally on the user’s computer and are not automatically synchronized with Web ChatGPT.

How to Upload Custom Pets on the Web

In Web ChatGPT, you can also upload sprite images you’ve created yourself.

The file requirements specified in OpenAI’s documentation are as follows:


Item	Condition
File format	Transparent PNG or WebP
Image size	Exactly 1536 × 1872 pixels
Maximum size	20MiB or less
Image type	Sprite sheet containing animation frames

Uploaded pets can be modified, refreshed, or deleted from the settings menu.

It’s not about uploading a single character image, but rather a specific type of sprite sheet that includes various task states and actions.

Pets Can Also Be Used in Codex CLI

Pets can be used not only in the graphical ChatGPT desktop app but also in the Codex CLI.

In an interactive Codex CLI session, enter the following command:

/pets

Alternatively, you can also use the following command:

/pet

To directly select a specific pet, enter the following:

/pets <pet-name>

To disable terminal pets, use the following command:

/pets off

CLI pets also display Running, Needs input, Ready, and Blocked states. However, they only show the status of the current CLI session and do not provide an activity tray to show multiple tasks simultaneously like the desktop app.

Since images need to be displayed in the terminal, there are also limitations on the execution environment.

According to OpenAI documentation, terminal pets require the following environment:

iTerm2 3.6 이상
또는
Kitty Graphics 지원 터미널
또는
Sixel 지원 터미널

Terminal pets cannot be used inside tmux and Zellij.

Cannot Be Used in IDE Extensions

Currently, Codex IDE extensions do not provide a pet selection feature or a pet overlay displayed on the screen.

If you want to use Codex in an IDE like Visual Studio Code and display pets simultaneously, you must use the ChatGPT desktop app or a supported Codex CLI environment.

Also Connected to Computer Use Feature

In the ChatGPT desktop app for macOS, you can link the Computer Use’s PIP (Picture-in-Picture) screen to the pet.

This means ChatGPT shows its manipulation of actual browsers or applications in a small PIP window, and when the pet moves, that window also moves with it.

This feature suggests the possibility that pets are not just simple characters but could become a central interface for displaying various agent activities of ChatGPT in the future.

펫
├─ 작업 진행 상태
├─ 사용자 승인 요청
├─ 오류 알림
├─ 작업 완료 알림
└─ Computer Use 진행 화면

Will Using Pets Improve GPT Performance?

To put it simply, no.

Selecting a pet or creating a custom pet does not change the following:

GPT model performance
Reasoning ability
Response style
Code writing ability
Task speed
Token usage
Security policies

OpenAI’s official documentation also states that selecting a pet only changes the character’s appearance and does not affect how ChatGPT performs tasks.

Therefore, Pets is not a feature that enhances AI model performance, but rather a UX feature that improves how users interact with AI agents.

More Than Just a Fun Feature

One might think of ChatGPT Pets as a feature similar to old desktop pets or Tamagotchis.

Indeed, there is certainly enjoyment in customizing characters and watching their movements. OpenAI also explained in an official demonstration that Pets can make using Codex more enjoyable.

However, from a practical perspective, the following meanings are more significant:

1. Status display for long-running tasks

You can check the current status while the AI is working for tens of minutes or longer.

2. Guidance on user intervention points

Users can quickly intervene when authorization, a response, or additional information is needed.

3. Multi-agent task management

Even when multiple tasks are running simultaneously, it indicates which tasks need to be checked first.

4. Reduced psychological distance to AI tasks

Users can understand the AI’s status more intuitively through character movements than through text status messages.

A New Status Indicator for the AI Agent Era

Traditional software displayed task status as follows:

Progress: 65%
Status: Running

ChatGPT Pets expresses this through the character’s actions.

작업 중     → 펫이 움직임
승인 필요   → 사용자를 부름
작업 완료   → 완료 동작 표시
오류 발생   → 멈추거나 오류 상태 표시

Functionally, it is not significantly different from status icons or loading animations in existing systems.

However, users can react more easily to character movements than to mechanical status messages. This shows that as AI transforms from a simple tool to a collaborative agent, the user interface is also changing.

Conclusion

ChatGPT Pets is not just a feature that adds cute characters to the screen.

As long-running tasks and multi-agent execution increase, it is an animated agent status monitor designed to help users more easily understand the AI’s task status.

Pets perform the following roles:

작업 진행 상태 표시
사용자 승인 요청 알림
작업 완료 알림
오류 발생 표시
여러 작업 간 우선순위 안내

It is a personalization feature in that users can use their own created characters, and a productivity feature in that it allows checking the status of multiple agents.

Ultimately, ChatGPT Pets can be defined as follows:

Combining the charm of desktop pets with the functionality of a task status monitor,

it is a new user interface for the AI agent era.

While it may seem like a cute add-on feature now, the importance of such status display interfaces is expected to grow significantly as AI increasingly performs autonomous tasks for longer durations.

ChatGPT Has a Pet? OpenAI Pets Feature and How to Create Custom Pets