On June 17, 2026, OpenAI rolled out a feature that changes how people use ChatGPT day to day: scheduled tasks. Until now, you had to open the app and ask your question to get an answer. Now you can ask ChatGPT to do a job at a specific time, repeat it daily or weekly, and even monitor the web or your connected apps to notify you only when something important changes.

For a small business in Trois-Rivières, Mauricie, or anywhere in Quebec, that’s a small change that can save real time. Instead of remembering to check something every morning, you let the tool do it and get a notification instead. Here’s what it actually does, how it applies to a real business, and what to watch out for before you automate everything.

1. What ChatGPT just added

The update centers on a dedicated page called “Scheduled,” which brings together every automated action you set up with ChatGPT in one place. You can create them, view them, pause them, resume them, edit them, or delete them. There are three main types of use:

• Reminders: ChatGPT notifies you at a chosen time, for example for a client follow-up or a deadline.
• Recurring work: the same request repeated on a schedule, like a daily summary or a draft post every Monday.
• Monitoring tasks: the AI watches the web or your connected apps and only alerts you when it detects a meaningful change.

You can schedule a task for a specific time, or for a broader window like morning, afternoon, or evening. OpenAI also says these tasks run faster and more reliably than before, with better notifications. The older Pulse feature will be retired in the coming weeks.

2. How it actually works

The idea behind scheduled tasks is to move from an assistant that answers when spoken to, to one that acts at the right moment without you having to think about it. You set up your request once, choose when it should run, and ChatGPT handles the rest.

The most interesting case for a business is monitoring. Instead of getting flooded with emails or checking ten sites a day, you tell the tool to bother you only when there’s genuinely something new. A few rules apply, according to OpenAI:

• A task can’t run more than once per hour.
• A task left without interaction may pause itself automatically after a period of inactivity.
• The number of active tasks depends on your plan, detailed below.

If you’re wondering how to fit a tool like this into your operations without creating chaos, that’s exactly the kind of support we offer through our managed IT services. Setting up an automation is easy. Making it reliable, secure, and useful over the long run is a different job entirely.

3. Five practical uses for a Quebec small business

Beyond the technical novelty, the real question is always the same: what does this change for my business on Monday morning? Here are realistic examples anyone can apply without being a specialist.

• Competitive monitoring: watch a competitor’s site or listings and get notified when a price or page changes.
• Regulatory tracking: keep an eye on government pages relevant to your industry, such as Law 25 obligations, and get alerted when they’re updated.
• Morning briefing: a daily rundown of news in your industry, delivered before your first coffee.
• Follow-up reminders: chase a quote, check a client file, or prepare a weekly report at a fixed time.
• Reputation monitoring: get notified when your company’s name shows up online, so you can respond quickly to a review or mention.

None of these uses replace an employee. They remove the chore of checking things manually, freeing up time for higher-value work. It’s the same logic we apply when automating IT routines for our clients.

4. Which plans and what limits

The feature is rolling out across several plans, on both web and mobile. According to reports from specialized media, scheduled tasks are coming to the Go, Plus, Pro, Business, and Enterprise plans. The number of active tasks varies by subscription level: roughly 3 active tasks for the Go plan, up to 15 for the Pro and Enterprise plans.

These figures and the exact offering can change quickly, as is often the case with AI tools. For up-to-date numbers and precise terms, always check OpenAI’s official page rather than a dated article. The free plan remains more limited, which makes sense: the feature is aimed first at paying users and teams.

5. Privacy, oversight, and Law 25: what to watch for

Automating a task often means handing information to an outside tool. That’s where caution matters, especially in Quebec, where Law 25 governs the protection of personal information. A few basic habits to follow:

• Keep a human in the loop: an automated notification is a suggestion to verify, not a final decision.
• Avoid feeding the AI sensitive data about clients or employees without first checking your plan’s privacy policies.
• Favor business plans: on the Business and Enterprise tiers, OpenAI states that shared data isn’t used to train its models, which isn’t guaranteed on consumer versions.
• Document your automations so you know who created what, and can shut everything down quickly if needed.

A good automation is one you stay in control of. If you want to set clear, secure rules for AI use in your business without slowing your teams down, we can help. Reach out to our team through the contact page.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are ChatGPT’s scheduled tasks free?

The feature is rolling out mainly on paid plans (Go, Plus, Pro, Business, and Enterprise), with the number of active tasks depending on subscription level. The free plan remains more limited. Since the offering changes fast, check current terms directly on OpenAI’s site.

Can ChatGPT really monitor a website for me?

Yes, that’s one of the three intended uses. You ask it to monitor the web or a connected app, and it alerts you only when it detects a change it considers meaningful. A task still can’t run more than once per hour, though.

Is it safe for my company’s data?

It depends on the plan and what information you feed it. On business plans, OpenAI states that data isn’t used to train its models. In Quebec, also keep Law 25 in mind: avoid sharing sensitive personal information without clear safeguards, and always keep human validation in place.

Automation, yes, but done right

ChatGPT’s scheduled tasks show where AI is heading in 2026: fewer one-off questions, more actions triggered at the right moment. For a small business, it’s a real opportunity to save time on monitoring, follow-ups, and routine work. But like any new tool, it’s best rolled out with a plan, protecting your data and keeping control. If you want to bring AI into your operations safely, check out our IT services for small businesses or reach out through our contact page to talk it over with our team in Trois-Rivières.