I am writing to report and seek clarification regarding what appears to be a consistent limitation or possible bug involving ChatGPT Work and Projects created with Project-only memory.
I have tested this multiple times by creating new Projects, and I have been able to reproduce the behaviour consistently.
Account and Environment Details
Subscription: ChatGPT Plus
Account email: [INSERT YOUR CHATGPT ACCOUNT EMAIL]
Platform: ChatGPT Desktop App for Windows
ChatGPT App Version: 1.2026.190
Operating System: Windows 10, Build 19045
Device Type: Windows Desktop PC
User Interface: Current/new ChatGPT desktop interface with Chat, Work and Codex
Country/Region: India
Time Zone: IST / Asia-Kolkata (UTC+05:30)
Date reproduced: 9 August 2026
Approximate time reproduced: Around 6:00–7:15 PM IST
Network: [INSERT – e.g. Home Wi-Fi / Office Wi-Fi]
Issue Observed
The availability of Work within a Project appears to depend specifically on the memory option selected when the Project is created.
Test 1 – Project Created with Default Memory
- I create a new Project.
- I select Default memory.
- I enter the newly created Project.
- Both Chat and Work are available.
- I can start a Work session associated with that Project.
Result: Chat – Available / Work – Available
Test 2 – Project Created with Project-Only Memory
- I create another new Project.
- I select Project-only memory.
- I enter the newly created Project.
- Chat is available, but Work is not available for that Project.
- If I separately start a new Work session and then attempt to select this Project, ChatGPT reports that the project is not available for Work.
Result: Chat – Available / Work – Not Available
I have reproduced this using newly created Projects, so this does not appear to be an issue limited to an old or migrated Project.
The behaviour is consistently:
Default memory → Chat + Work available
Project-only memory → Chat available, Work unavailable
Why Project-Only Memory Is Important to My Workflow
I deliberately use Project-only memory for important Projects because I need each Project to remain contextually isolated.
For such Projects, I want ChatGPT to work only with information belonging to that particular Project, including:
- Project conversations and history
- Uploaded files and documents
- Project instructions
- Information and decisions developed within that Project
I specifically do not want unrelated chats, memories, information from other Projects, or general conversations outside the Project to influence the Project’s responses.
Therefore, changing a Project to Default memory merely to obtain access to Work is not an appropriate workaround, because doing so removes the contextual isolation that is the reason I selected Project-only memory in the first place.
At the same time, I need Work for longer, multi-step, research, analysis and artifact-oriented tasks within those same isolated Projects.
The present behaviour therefore appears to require a user to choose between:
Project-only contextual isolation
and
access to ChatGPT Work
rather than allowing both capabilities within the same Project.
Clarification Requested
Could you please confirm the following:
- Is ChatGPT Work intentionally unavailable for Projects created with Project-only memory?
- If yes, is this an intentional and permanent product design, or a current/temporary technical limitation?
- If it is a temporary limitation, is support for Work + Project-only memory planned?
- If Project-only memory Projects are actually expected to support Work, should the behaviour described above be treated as a bug?
- Is there any Project setting, account setting, desktop-app setting, migration procedure, or other configuration required to enable Work while retaining Project-only memory?
- If this is currently an intentional limitation, could you please clarify whether there is any supported alternative that allows a Project to use Work while ensuring that its context remains strictly restricted to that Project?
Expected Behaviour
Ideally, I would expect a Project configured with Project-only memory to retain its isolated context while still allowing me to choose between:
Chat | Work
with both modes operating within the same Project-specific context boundary.
This would provide the combination required for professional Project workflows: context isolation together with access to Work capabilities.
I would appreciate confirmation as to whether the behaviour I am experiencing is:
- intended by design;
- a currently known limitation;
- part of a staged rollout;
- or an unintended issue requiring investigation.
I can also provide screenshots or a screen recording showing:
- A newly created Default memory Project displaying both Chat and Work;
- A newly created Project-only memory Project where Work is unavailable; and
- The message stating that the Project is not available for Work when I attempt to select it from a Work session.
Please let me know if any additional diagnostic information is required.
Thank you.
Regards,
Prabu