Open the In-App Browser with the Keyboard and NVDA
Open the desktop app browser with Ctrl+Shift+B or a written request, navigate with NVDA and check the result of a small browser task.
Watch the video
In this Windows 11 walkthrough I open the desktop app's built-in browser using the keyboard and NVDA. I show two routes: a shortcut and a written request. Then I follow a small task, three Google coin flips, and read the result. The video uses the ChatGPT desktop app with Codex selected and GPT-6 Astra.
Find the prompt and the surrounding controls
In the recorded interface, I use NVDA's D key to move through landmarks and E to find the multiline prompt field, labelled Do anything. Shift+E moves to the previous edit field. These quick-navigation keys work in browse mode; use NVDA+Space to switch modes when necessary. Tab and Shift+Tab move through focusable controls.
I also read the file, permissions and model controls near the prompt. Their names describe the interface in this recording. You do not need to change your permissions or model just to copy the browser demonstration.
Open the browser with the shortcut
Press Ctrl+Shift+B. In the video, NVDA announces the browser area and a Search or enter a URL field. The same shortcut hides that browser view again. Current OpenAI browser documentation also lists Ctrl+Shift+B for opening the built-in browser on Windows.
The built-in browser has its own profile, separate from your regular browser. Do not assume a website is signed in just because you are signed in elsewhere. This is a desktop-app browser workflow, not a browser feature inside Codex CLI.
Open it with a written request
Return to the prompt field, enter the request below, and submit it:
Please open google.com in the in-app browser and search for the coin flip utility.
Listen for the opened page and use NVDA browse mode to find the results. In the recording, H reaches the Flip a coin heading. Read any permission prompt before responding. I decline an unexpected camera request; camera access is not part of this coin-flip task.
Give it a small task and check the result
Return to the prompt and ask:
Flip the coin three times and tell me the winner, best out of three.
I hear Heads, Tails and Tails, then read the reported result: Tails wins two to one. Your results will vary. The useful pattern is to give a bounded action, listen to the page feedback and compare it with the final report. Hearing that a request was accepted is different from checking that the requested actions happened.
If the browser is difficult to reach
In the video, I maximize the Windows app using Alt+Space followed by X. I then inspect the browser tab, side-panel controls, address field and full-screen toggle. A collapsed panel can leave its controls available while the page is difficult to reach. Expand the browser view, then locate the page again with Tab or NVDA landmarks.
If the shortcut changes in a later version, use the written request and inspect the app's browser controls. The official browser guide is the reference for current features; this lesson's spoken labels describe the recorded layout.
Use the workflow for a useful page
Once you can open a page, navigate it and verify a small result, try the same approach on a task you can review. My website accessibility review uses a local game and shows why the tool's report still needs manual checks. Keep the complete lesson available when sharing a short clip so viewers can hear the navigation and troubleshooting context.