OpenAI adds AI pets to its Codex coding tool

AI companions are gradually becoming a staple in the industry, and OpenAI is now joining the trend. The company launched Codex Pets, an optional animated companion integrated into its AI coding tool.

Like most AI companions, it doesn’t do heavy lifting. But Codex Pets earns its place as a floating overlay that shows project status updates in real time, so you don’t need to switch tabs. Users can monitor active threads and know if the Codex is running, waiting to be entered, or ready for review, all without ever leaving what they are working on.

Getting started is simple. Head to Settings, select Appearance, then choose Pets to choose from the built-in options. Once enabled, the floating overlay can be turned on or off by typing /pet in composer, using Wake Pet or Tuck Away Pet in Settings > Appearance, or by pressing Cmd+K on Mac or Ctrl+K on Windows.

The feature comes with eight built-in variations – including a cat and a dog – but the most interesting game is the custom pet creator. Users can directly request Codex to generate their own companion and then share it online. A quick scroll through the homepage reveals that the community has already gotten to work. Current creations include Goku, Patrick Star, Microsoft’s long-retired Clippy, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, and, naturally, a goblin.

Disclosure: Ziff Davis, the parent company of Mashable, filed a lawsuit in April 2025 against OpenAI, alleging that it had violated Ziff Davis’ copyrights in the training and operation of its AI systems.