Automate Any Manual Task With This OpenAI Feature

In this guide, you will learn how to automate any repetitive work task that you do on your computer. OpenAI's new "Record & Replay" tool allows you to teach their Codex agent how to do anything simply by recording your screen while you do the task.

• Marketers, SEO teams, and analysts who pull recurring reports from tools like Google Search Console.
• Creators and operators who upload videos, organize files, rename exports, or move assets between a browser, Finder, and another app.
• Anyone with a repeatable computer task who wants to teach an agent by showing the workflow once instead of rebuilding brittle automations.

You will set up the Record & Replay plugin in Codex, record your screen while you complete one repeatable task, and let Codex turn that recording into a skill.

That skill can reopen the same apps, follow the same browser or desktop steps, and automate the work you recorded.

In the video, the example workflow exports a Google Search Console report, applies a country filter, downloads a CSV, and moves the file into the right client folder. Your version could be a monthly analytics export, a YouTube upload checklist, a file-packaging workflow, a CRM cleanup task, or any other repeatable process you normally do by hand.

• The Codex desktop app (https://developers.openai.com/codex/app)
• A ChatGPT account with Codex access
• A Mac, because Record & Replay is a macOS workflow
• Computer Use enabled in Codex
• The Record & Replay plugin installed
• One safe, repeatable task you can record without exposing private data

Once the skill works, turn it into a recurring automation.

You can do this manually from the Codex schedule menu by creating a new automation, choosing the project, and writing an instruction that invokes the skill.

The easier path is to stay in the same Codex thread and ask for it directly:

Create an automation that runs this skill every [SCHEDULE] for [CLIENT_OR_WORKFLOW].
Use the same project and inputs we just tested.
After it runs, summarize what changed and tell me if anything needs review.

For a reporting workflow, that might run every Sunday or on the last day of each month. For a creator workflow, it might prepare an upload folder every Friday. For operations, it might export records, clean up files, or prepare a status packet on a recurring schedule.

You can also ask Codex to audit or edit the automation from the same thread:

Review the automation you just created.
Make sure it invokes the correct skill, uses the right schedule, and stops for review if the output is missing or the site changes.

Start with one useful workflow. Record it cleanly, supervise the first replay, improve the skill, and only then schedule it.