You cannot take the risk of these agents being tied to, number one, a desktop app subscription, and then number two, one model. The real answer is that you don't want to stay dependent on any one model, because it will become a risk to your business.
Should we start implementing AI and start using AI agents via ChatGPT Work/Codex, or should we start with Claude Code? Two caveats before I say this. Number one, when I say start with ChatGPT Work/Codex, same thing when I'm talking about Claude Code, I am talking about the desktop app.
The second caveat is even if you start with ChatGPT Work/Codex for yourself, for your executive team, for everyone else on the team that you want to be using an agent, you should not just stay with one model. I will address how you can grow towards that in a separate video.
1. If you only stay with one model after six months or 12 months, you cannot take the risk
In fact, if you only stay with one model after six months, 12 months, especially as your agentic operations (the agents that run your work on a schedule) really starts to come to fold, and you start to build five, ten, twenty-five, a hundred plus dependable agents for the org that are running hourly, daily, weekly, or based on certain events, you cannot take the risk of these agents being tied to, number one, a desktop app subscription, and then number two, one model.
So just understand that I am answering the question as what model should we start with, not which model should we stay with, because the real answer is that you don't want to stay dependent on any one model, because it will become a risk to your business.
2. Once a department runs on agents, you cannot afford for those agents to go down
Just imagine a year from now, you have 25 to 100 agents that are helping support the operations of your business. Maybe you have completely automated some departments within your business. Let's say, if you have the accounting department 80% automated, 80% supported by agents, you cannot afford for those agents to go down.
They unplug you, they pull you off. Or if they're like, "Hey, we're gonna 10X the price," and there's nothing you can do about it.
The truth is you shouldn't stay model dependent on anybody.
3. Start with ChatGPT Work/Codex for two reasons: familiarity and setup
Here are the reasons why I suggest that you start with ChatGPT Work/Codex Agent over Claude Code. The first reason is familiarity. As you can see in this article, ChatGPT reached one billion monthly active users in May. This is May of 2026, surpassing the pace set by apps including Google Maps, TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. On the other hand, as of the second quarter to date, Claude had 56 million global monthly active app users.
Because you probably already have a ChatGPT subscription, because you probably already use it in browser, you may even have it on your phone, and because of the large familiarity of it overall, with people on your team probably also being more familiar with it, it's an easier transition to be able to use it on the official desktop app, which is referred to as ChatGPT Work or Codex now, versus switching to Claude desktop app.
That brings me to the second reason why I suggest ChatGPT Work/Codex over Claude desktop app, and that's the setup. When you are setting up your Claude desktop app, it is going to ask you to download Git (a separate piece of developer software, and the exact step where someone on your team who does not write code stops and waits for help). It requires a little bit more manual maneuvering versus if you already have a ChatGPT subscription for the $20 per month or a current business workspace. If you already have some type of setup, all you have to do is download the ChatGPT desktop app.
We need to graduate from using these things in browser. You will get the maximum potential of these agents when you use them from your desktop app, especially since you're not a coder and you're not going to be using them via a terminal (the text-only command window developers work in).
Here's how to check if you're still model dependent at six and 12 months:
- Move your agent work out of the browser and into the desktop app, since you are not a coder and you are not going to be using them via a terminal.
- Start with the model your team is already familiar with, because familiarity and setup decide how quickly everyone else on the team actually uses an agent.
- List every agent that only runs because of one desktop app subscription, and count them.
- Decide now that you shouldn't stay model dependent on anybody, and watch for the separate video where I address how you can grow towards that.
- Put a review on the calendar at six months and 12 months and ask one question: are we still tied to one subscription and one model?
The real answer is that you don't want to stay dependent on any one model, because it will become a risk to your business.
Questions business owners are asking
What is the risk of relying on one supplier for AI?
The risk is that your operations inherit someone else's decisions. As Shanee puts it in the Short, you cannot take the risk of your agents being tied to a desktop app subscription and one model, because they unplug you, they pull you off, or they raise the price and there is nothing you can do about it. The exposure is small while you are testing one agent and large once 25 to 100 agents run hourly, daily, weekly, or based on certain events. Her rule is that you shouldn't stay model dependent on anybody.
Should I start with ChatGPT Work/Codex or Claude Code?
Shanee suggests starting with ChatGPT Work/Codex, and she gives two reasons in order. The first reason is familiarity: the article she reads on screen says ChatGPT reached one billion monthly active users in May 2026, against 56 million global monthly active app users for Claude as of the second quarter to date, and you probably already have a ChatGPT subscription your team already knows. The second reason is setup, since the Claude desktop app asks you to download Git, which is a separate developer install a non-coder would get stuck on. She is answering what to start with, not what to stay with.
How many AI agents will a small business actually end up running?
In the Short she describes building five, ten, twenty-five, a hundred plus dependable agents for the org, and asks you to imagine a year from now with 25 to 100 agents helping support your operations. Those agents run hourly, daily, weekly, or based on certain events rather than only when someone opens an app. That is the point where a model choice stops being a preference and starts being an operating dependency.
Can an AI vendor shut off or reprice the agents running my business?
That is the scenario Shanee asks owners to picture before they get there. They unplug you, they pull you off, or they tell you they are going to 10X the price and there is nothing you can do about it. If a department is 80% automated and 80% supported by agents at that moment, you cannot afford for those agents to go down. The practical answer is keeping a second route open, which is the thinking behind her two-tool backup plan for AI reliability.
Key moments in the video
- 0:00 You should not just stay with one model
- 0:06 Six months, 12 months in
- 0:13 5, 10, 25, 100 plus agents
- 0:21 The risk of being tied
- 0:29 Subscription and model
- 0:36 Start with, not stay with
- 0:46 Imagine 25 to 100 agents
- 0:56 Accounting 80% supported
- 1:04 You cannot afford for them to go down
- 1:10 We're gonna 10X the price
Sources
Official / Primary Sources
- Using One AI Model Puts Your Business at Risk (Shanee Moret, YouTube Short). Primary source for every statement in this article, published 2026-09-02.
- ChatGPT Work/Codex vs Claude Code: Which Is Better for Small Business Teams?. The longer video this Short was cut from; source for the accounting department example, the user numbers she reads on screen, and the setup comparison.
- Using One AI Model Puts Your Business at Risk. Shanee Moret on YouTube, published September 2, 2026; the article above is drawn from this video.