Computer and browser use in Codex (5 real examples)

Today I’m walking you through one of my absolute favorite AI features right now: browser and computer use via Codex (the ChatGPT desktop app). I use this every single day, personally and professionally, and I wanted to share the specific workflows I’ve built, the moments that surprised me, and the mental model that makes it actually click.

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What you’ll learn:

How browser use and computer use work, and why the Codex desktop app plus Chrome extension is the combo I rely on

How I use Codex to QA my onboarding flow, including exhaustive mobile testing I would never do manually

Why under-prompting frontier models gets better results than detailed step-by-step instructions

How my husband EJ Lawless’s persona-impersonation trick surfaces friction points I can’t see as the builder

How I use browser use to get through my LinkedIn inbox without touching it myself

How I had Codex shop Free People’s sale and add 10 medium-size items to my cart (breastfeeding-friendly and Hawaii-ready)

How computer use can control iPhone mirroring so your Mac can technically operate your phone

Three more computer-use shortcuts: filling annoying forms, creating Google Sheets mid-workflow, and managing a router

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In this episode, we cover:

( 00:00 ) Intro

( 01:46 ) What browser use and computer use actually are

( 03:08 ) Why I use Codex specifically and how the desktop app plus Chrome extension works

( 04:15 ) Use case 1: QA testing my onboarding flow

( 10:41 ) Results: 11 issues, one high-severity blocker, one Google Sheet with screenshots

( 12:10 ) Use case 2: persona testing

( 18:20 ) Use case 3: LinkedIn inbox, hands-free

( 20:37 ) Use case 4: AI personal shopper

( 23:47 ) Rapid-fire uses: forms, iPhone mirroring, router access from out of state, Google Docs

( 26:50 ) Wrap-up

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