TL;DR
Codex Sites is OpenAI's feature (preview since June 2, 2026) that lets Codex build, deploy, and host a working web app, backend included, from a prompt inside ChatGPT. It's genuinely good at that. But every viewer has to be a member of your ChatGPT workspace or sign in through your org's identity provider: there's no public link, no custom domain, and no comment channel. If the person you need to reach is a client, a prospect, or anyone outside your company, Codex Sites structurally can't get the app to them. That's the job Coedit does.
What Codex Sites actually is
Codex Sites is a feature of OpenAI's Codex, rolled into ChatGPT Business and Enterprise, that turns a plain-language prompt ("an internal dashboard that tracks Q3 launch tasks," "a customer-review workspace") into a deployed app with its own hosting and a database, no separate deploy step. It's the generation half of the problem solved well: describe it, Codex builds it and puts it somewhere.
That's a different job than what this blog usually covers. Most of the posts in our compare cluster are about what happens after generation, once you already have working output from Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, v0, or Lovable and need someone else to see it. Codex Sites is worth its own post because it's new, and because its sharing model draws a sharper line than most: it's built for inside the company, full stop.
The sharing model, and where it stops
A Codex Site has exactly three visibility settings, and all three keep the audience inside your ChatGPT workspace:
| Setting | Who can open the link |
|---|---|
| Admins only | Workspace admins |
| Everyone in the workspace | Anyone with a seat in your ChatGPT Business/Enterprise org |
| Specific people | Named people, who still authenticate through your org's identity provider |
There's no "anyone with the link" mode. No custom domain. A client, a prospective customer, a contractor without a seat, or anyone who isn't inside your org's identity system simply cannot open the app, no matter which of the three settings you pick. That's a deliberate design choice for an internal-tools product, not a bug, but it means the moment your audience crosses the company boundary, Codex Sites has nothing left to offer.
Where each tool actually wins
| Job | Codex Sites | Coedit |
|---|---|---|
| Build an app (with a backend) from a prompt | Yes, that's the point | No, Coedit doesn't generate |
| Host it without a separate deploy step | Yes | N/A, it hosts what you paste in |
| Share with people outside your company, no account needed | No | Yes |
| Put the link on your own domain | No | Yes, on paid plans |
| Comments pinned to the live page | No | Yes |
| Non-coders edit copy and styling on the shared page | No | Yes |
| Works with output from Claude, Gemini, v0, Lovable, hand-written HTML | No (Codex output only) | Yes, tool-agnostic |
| Version history across human and agent edits | Not published | Yes, with rollback |
If the job is "build an internal tool for my team," Codex Sites is a fast, capable answer and there's no reason to route around it. If the job is "get this in front of someone who isn't on my payroll," it can't do that today, and that's exactly the wall this post is about.
How Coedit fits
Coedit doesn't compete with Codex on generation, and it's not trying to. Build the app in Codex (or Claude, Gemini, v0, Lovable, or by hand), export or paste the HTML, and Coedit turns it into one link anyone can open with no account, comment on with feedback pinned to the exact element, edit without code, and roll back through version history. Paid plans put that link on your own domain. Codex Sites solves "build and host for my team." Coedit solves "share this with the world outside it," for whatever tool built it.
FAQ
Q: Can I share a Codex Site with someone outside my company? A: Not today. All three sharing settings (admins only, everyone in the workspace, specific people) require the viewer to be inside your ChatGPT Business/Enterprise workspace or authenticate through your org's identity provider. There's no public link.
Q: Does Codex Sites support a custom domain? A: No. Sites are hosted on OpenAI's infrastructure without a custom-domain option, so a shared app can't carry your own brand's URL.
Q: Is Codex Sites free? A: Sites itself was free during its June 2026 preview, on ChatGPT Business and Enterprise plans. The underlying Codex usage that builds the app is billed separately, token-based.
Q: Can I move a Codex-built app into Coedit to share it externally? A: Yes, the same way you would from any AI tool: export or copy the app's HTML and paste it into Coedit to get a link anyone can open, comment on, and (if you allow it) edit, without needing a ChatGPT seat.