What changed
The ChatGPT desktop app is now configured to use Amazon Bedrock in AWS GovCloud (US), allowing access to OpenAI’s frontier models through two components. Work completes complex, multi-step tasks and delivers review-ready results, and Codex is a coding agent for developing, testing, and reviewing software. This configuration routes model requests through Amazon Bedrock Mantle in us-gov-west-1, where access is governed using AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) and existing AWS GovCloud (US) network controls.
What this means in practice
This setup is intended for organizations with security architecture requiring model inference to use AWS GovCloud (US) identities, endpoints, and Regional controls. The ChatGPT desktop app runs on an organization-managed computer through the desktop app or CLI, using configured AWS credentials to securely send requests to the Amazon Bedrock Mantle endpoint in us-gov-west-1. Model inference is routed through the Responses API on Amazon Bedrock, and for customers with data residency requirements, processing stays within the selected Amazon Bedrock AWS Region. You pay per token with no seat licenses and no per-developer commitments. Zero data retention (ZDR) is also supported, ensuring prompts and responses are processed without being written to durable storage by AWS or shared with model providers.
Limitations and availability
The configuration uses API-mode sign-in, a managed device policy, a named AWS profile, and network restrictions. These restrictions allow access only to the approved Amazon Bedrock endpoint while disabling other external connections and network-enabled capabilities. The result is a deployment that an agency security team can test and document before approving broader use. The ChatGPT desktop app must support Amazon Bedrock in AWS GovCloud (US), and users need an approved AWS GovCloud (US) account, IAM identity, and approved credentials. The configuration files, config.toml and requirements.toml, must be set up before the application is launched. The requirements.toml file is an administrator-controlled rules file that sets security limits that users can’t override.
