OpenAI's new LifeVal benchmark shows GPT-6 Astra succeeding on 80% of everyday tasks

OpenAI released LifeVal, a benchmark shaped by thousands of ChatGPT users describing where they most want help from a personal assistant, from finding childcare onward. GPT-6 Astra succeeds on 80% of LifeVal's complex, multi-step daily tasks, up from 49.3% for GPT-5.2.

The benchmark supports a product change. In December, ChatGPT's Chat and Work tabs will merge so that agentic Codex-style flows run directly in the main interface. Pro usage limits are doubling, and OpenAI is rolling out per-device and per-card verification across paid tiers.

OpenAI is designing the benchmark around consumer assistant tasks rather than coding or reasoning puzzles. That positions it against the rebuilt Siri, which now handles 2.5 billion requests a day, and against Gemini's growing agent features.

The skepticism is real. A self-designed benchmark invites the charge of teaching to the test. On r/ChatGPT, Plus subscribers asked 'what's the point in us paying for this anymore', and another thread called the shared limits 'dressed up as an upgrade'.