#1693 macOS app incorrectly converts cloud Chat conversations into local Work conversations and stops syncing updates

Summary

The current macOS ChatGPT app appears to be incorrectly treating ordinary cloud Chat conversations as local Work conversations.

This results in one-way synchronisation:

Chats created on Windows or the web sync correctly to the Mac.
The same conversation can then be continued on the Mac.
New messages added from the Mac do not sync back to Windows or the web.
New conversations created from the Mac app also appear under Work rather than normal Chat.
These Mac-side Work conversations cannot be shared in the same way as normal cloud chats.

Environment

macOS ChatGPT app version: 26.814.41407
App reports this as the latest available version.
Windows app: latest current version.
Web: Safari on macOS.
Same OpenAI account on all three clients.

Reproduction

Create a normal Chat conversation on Windows or the web.
Confirm that the conversation appears in the macOS app.
Open that same conversation on the Mac.
Continue the conversation from the Mac.
Return to Windows or the web.

Actual behaviour

The conversation exists on all clients up to the point before it was continued on the Mac. Messages added from the Mac do not subsequently appear on Windows or the web. The macOS app appears to treat the conversation as Work/local state even though it originated as an ordinary cloud Chat conversation. The Recents filter on macOS makes the distinction visible:

Chat shows the conversations that sync normally with web/Windows.
Work shows the newer conversations that remain on the Mac.

A test conversation created directly on macOS, Sync test 19 August, appears under Work and does not appear at all on Windows or web.

Additional observations

Selecting New chat in the macOS app opens a Work-style interface showing:

“What should we build?”
“Choose project”
“Ask for approval”
options such as “Explore and understand code”, “Build a new feature, app, or tool”, etc.

There is no visible Chat/Work selector allowing me to switch this new conversation back to normal Chat mode.

The top-left selector only shows:

ChatGPT — “Chat, learn, and explore”
Codex — “Build, debug, and ship”

A normal cloud Chat conversation provides a Share option and successfully generates a public share link.

The Mac-created Sync test 19 August conversation has a different context menu and does not provide the same Share functionality.

On the Windows app, conversations normally expose options relating to Work or Runs in the Cloud. This affected conversation exposes neither option there, suggesting that the cloud copy remains a normal Chat while the Mac has created or converted its continuation into local Work state.

Expected behaviour

An ordinary cloud Chat conversation should remain a cloud Chat when opened and continued on macOS.

Messages added on macOS should sync to web and Windows.

Selecting New chat should allow creation of a normal Chat conversation rather than silently defaulting to a local Work conversation.

Feedback ID

no-active-thread-01a01a2b-e038-70b2-a640-3faa683c9814

The issue is reproducible and persists on the latest macOS app version.