ChatGPT for online homework: chat, agent mode and Atlas vs Silent Student
OpenAI’s own pages describe three ways ChatGPT can help with online homework. Chat answers what you paste or upload, Study mode walks you through it, and agent mode, on paid plans, can work websites in a virtual browser. ChatGPT Atlas, OpenAI’s browser, has been retired, its help center says. Silent Student, which we make, is a Mac and Windows app built to work Canvas assignments and the courseware they open.
Disclosure: we make Silent Student. We did not test ChatGPT on coursework; its facts come from OpenAI’s pricing page, feature pages and help center, listed under Sources. Checked .
Short answer
- Chat and Study mode: ChatGPT answers or teaches from what you paste or upload, and you type the answer into your platform. Free plan; Go is $8, Plus $20 and Pro from $100 a month (pricing).
- Agent mode: paid plans only, with 40 agent messages a month on Plus. It works in a virtual browser, pauses so you can sign in yourself, and asks before “high-impact actions” (OpenAI Help Center).
- Atlas: retired. OpenAI’s help center says “ChatGPT Atlas has been retired and no longer receives updates” (help article).
- Silent Student (ours): queues your Canvas assignments by due date, enters answers in Canvas and the platforms it opens, and submits, from $11.99 a month. No free plan, and it does not take proctored exams.
What are ChatGPT’s homework modes?
ChatGPT is one product with several modes, and they do different jobs. Of the modes OpenAI documents for consumers, agent mode is the one that acts on websites, and only on paid plans.
| Mode | What it does | Plans | Opens your course? | Who enters the answer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chat (text, photos, files) | Answers what you type, paste or upload | All plans; uploads limited on Free | No | You |
| Study mode | “Step-by-step guidance instead of quick answers,” with knowledge checks | All plans | No | You |
| Agent mode | Uses screenshots of a virtual browser to “click buttons, fill out forms, and navigate websites” | Paid plans; Plus 40 and Pro 400 messages a month | Only inside its virtual browser, after you sign in through takeover | The agent, with confirmation for high-impact actions |
| Built-in browser (desktop app) | OpenAI describes “the new built-in browser experience in the ChatGPT desktop app” | Listed on every plan | Not documented for coursework | Not documented |
| ChatGPT Atlas | Retired; “no longer receives updates” | None | None | None |
| Silent Student (ours) | Desktop app that works Canvas assignments and the courseware they open | $11.99–$49.99/month, no free plan | Yes, in its own browser on your computer | The app; written work waits for your approval |
Can ChatGPT do my Canvas quiz?
In chat, no. ChatGPT never sees the quiz page, so you copy each question in and each answer back. Agent mode is different. OpenAI’s help center says the agent uses screenshots of its virtual browser to “click buttons, fill out forms, and navigate websites,” and that when a site needs a login it pauses so you can “Take over browser.” Its listed safeguards include “user confirmations for high-impact actions, refusal patterns for disallowed tasks, prompt injection monitoring, and a ‘watch mode’ requiring user supervision on certain sites.” OpenAI does not list which coursework tasks it declines.
Schools have noticed. On October 30, 2025, Colorado State University’s Academic Integrity Program, writing on its TILT teaching site, warned instructors that AI browsers “(like Perplexity or Atlas) can successfully complete Canvas assignments, quizzes, and exams.” It described Atlas as “partially agentic”: it “may not select the answers for the student,” but will “provide a complete answer key in a sidebar.” Its recommendation was Respondus LockDown Browser for Canvas assessments. Whether any AI may touch a quiz is your instructor’s call. Silent Student does not take proctored exams or LockDown Browser quizzes. Best AI for Canvas compares the Canvas tools in more detail.
ChatGPT for McGraw Hill Connect and ALEKS
In chat, ChatGPT can explain a Connect or ALEKS problem you paste in, and you enter the answer in Connect or the ALEKS answer editor yourself. ALEKS also has its own explanations, and McGraw Hill’s ALEKS FAQ says “No points are given or subtracted when students select Explanation.” Agents are another matter. McGraw Hill’s Terms of Use, updated October 16, 2026, bar using a third-party “browser extension” or “AI agent” to “view, complete, answer, or submit any assessment, assignment, or other activity” unless McGraw Hill authorizes it in writing. In our reading, that covers ChatGPT’s agent and Silent Student alike. We are not lawyers. More: McGraw Hill Connect, ALEKS.
ChatGPT for Pearson MyLab
Pearson has its own tutor in some courses. Its AI Study Tool “breaks complex problems into manageable steps,” and Pearson says it is “Available in select MyLab & Mastering courses.” ChatGPT can do similar step-by-step work on a problem you paste. Either way you enter the answer, and Pearson’s student help says a question is complete when you answer correctly or use “the number of tries allowed (usually three) for each step.” Pearson’s Terms of Use prohibit automated tools that data-mine or scrape its material without permission. More: Pearson MyLab.
ChatGPT for IXL and Edgenuity
IXL’s Terms of Service, updated September 30, 2026, say you will not use “an Agent (i.e., any software or service that takes autonomous or semi-autonomous action on behalf of, or at the instruction of, any person or entity)” to interact with IXL. IXL’s SecureTest guide says SecureTest “is powered by LockDown Browser® from Respondus” and, when it is turned on for IXL’s diagnostic, screener and common assessments, blocks “AI-powered extensions.” ChatGPT’s chat can still explain a skill you paste in.
Edgenuity lessons run in a fixed order. Its student quick-start guide says “Lessons include activities such as Warm-up, Instruction, Summary, Assignment, and Quiz” and “You must complete the entire activity to be able to move on to the next one.” Chat can explain a reading or a practice question; it cannot move you through the lesson. More: IXL answer bots, Edgenuity.
ChatGPT vs Silent Student, side by side.
| Feature | Silent Student | ChatGPT |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Desktop app for Mac and Windows with its own browser | General AI assistant on the web, phones and Mac and Windows apps |
| Where your homework happens | Canvas and the courseware it opens: WebAssign, MindTap, Connect, MyLab, Achieve and more | Chat: wherever you paste. Agent: a virtual browser that OpenAI runs |
| Your school login | Stays on your computer, encrypted by macOS Keychain or Windows | Agent: you sign in through takeover mode; “Cookies persist across sessions” |
| Unit of work | Whole assignments, queued in due-date order | One prompt, or one agent task at a time |
| Enters answers and submits | Yes; quizzes submit, written work waits for your approval | Chat: no. Agent: can fill forms, and asks before high-impact actions |
| AI models | Several providers, currently Anthropic, Google, OpenAI, Z.ai, DeepSeek and xAI (FAQ) | OpenAI’s own models |
| Price | $11.99, $24.99 or $49.99 a month | Free; Go $8, Plus $20, Pro from $100 a month (pricing) |
| Free plan | No; a live demo and a first-assignment money-back guarantee | Yes; agent mode is paid only |
| Proctored exams | Does not take them | Not addressed in OpenAI’s agent help |
How each one works.
How ChatGPT works on homework
You paste a question, upload a photo or file, or ask in Study mode, and ChatGPT answers in the conversation. You copy the result into your platform. On paid plans, agent mode can work a website in a virtual browser that OpenAI runs; you sign in yourself through takeover, and it stops for confirmation on high-impact steps.
How Silent Student works
A desktop app with its own browser. You connect Canvas once, and your login stays on your computer. It syncs your assignments, sorts them by due date and works each one, including quizzes, essays, discussions and the courseware they open. It enters answers and submits; essays and discussions wait for your approval, and it does not take proctored exams.
How much does ChatGPT cost for homework?
OpenAI’s pricing page lists Free at $0, Go at $8 a month (“This plan may include ads”), Plus at $20 and Pro from $100, with three Pro usage tiers. Study mode is on every plan. Agent mode “is currently only available for paid plans”: Plus includes 40 agent messages a month and Pro 400, and only the request that starts a task counts. In the iPhone app, the App Store lists ChatGPT Plus at $19.99 and Go at $8.00. Silent Student costs $11.99 for Base, $24.99 for Plus and $49.99 for Pro, and every plan covers every platform.
Is ChatGPT Atlas still available?
No. OpenAI’s help center article on Atlas is now titled “ChatGPT Atlas retirement” and says “ChatGPT Atlas has been retired and no longer receives updates.” It tells users to move exported bookmarks and passwords into another browser, and notes that Atlas browser memories are separate from ChatGPT memories. OpenAI’s pricing page now lists a “built-in browser” on every plan, and its ChatGPT Work page describes “the new built-in browser experience in the ChatGPT desktop app” with “richer agentic workflows.” CSU’s 2025 warning named Atlas; the same questions about course rules apply to any AI browser.
Does ChatGPT Study mode help with online homework?
It helps you learn the material, which is its stated purpose. OpenAI’s Study mode page describes “guided learning” through “questions, hints, and step-by-step explanations,” knowledge checks, and progress tracking. You choose “study” in the chat’s settings, then work the problem with it. It does not open your course, so the answer still goes into WebAssign, MyLab or Canvas by your hand. If your course allows AI tutoring, Study mode is the ChatGPT feature built for it.
Which should you pick?
They do different jobs.
Use ChatGPT if you want explanations in any subject on any device, free to start, or Study mode to learn a method before you answer it yourself.
Pick Silent Student (we make it) to have whole Canvas assignments and the courseware they open worked and submitted from a Mac or Windows computer, if your course allows it. Read how it handles your data.
Questions people ask
Can ChatGPT do my homework on Canvas?
In chat, it answers what you paste, and you enter each answer in Canvas yourself. Agent mode, on paid plans, can work websites in a virtual browser after you sign in, with confirmations for high-impact actions. Colorado State University warned in October 2025 that AI browsers can complete Canvas quizzes and recommended LockDown Browser. Your instructor’s rules decide what is allowed.
Is ChatGPT agent mode free?
No. OpenAI’s help center says agent mode “is currently only available for paid plans.” Plus includes 40 agent messages a month and Pro 400.
Is ChatGPT Atlas discontinued?
Yes. OpenAI’s help center says “ChatGPT Atlas has been retired and no longer receives updates,” checked October 20, 2026.
Can ChatGPT do McGraw Hill Connect or ALEKS?
It can explain a problem you paste in. McGraw Hill’s Terms of Use, updated October 16, 2026, bar third-party AI agents and browser extensions from completing or submitting assignments without written permission, which in our reading covers ChatGPT’s agent and Silent Student.
Does Silent Student use ChatGPT?
Silent Student sends questions to AI models from several providers, currently Anthropic, Google, OpenAI, Z.ai, DeepSeek and xAI. It is a separate app made by El Dorado Ignition LLC and is not affiliated with OpenAI.
What is a ChatGPT alternative that submits homework?
Silent Student, which we make. It works Canvas assignments and the courseware they open, then submits, from $11.99 a month with no free plan, on a Mac or Windows computer. It does not take proctored exams; check your course’s rules on AI help.
Sources
Each third-party fact on this page comes from that company’s own site, help center or store listing. All were checked on October 20, 2026, and may have changed since.
- OpenAI: ChatGPT pricing (plans, Study mode, built-in browser, uploads); Help Center: ChatGPT agent (paid plans, limits, safeguards, takeover, devices); Help Center: ChatGPT Atlas retirement; Study mode; ChatGPT Work; App Store listing (in-app prices).
- Colorado State University, Academic Integrity Program: “Action Recommended: New AI Browsers Can Complete Canvas Quizzes” (TILT).
- McGraw Hill: Terms of Use (updated October 16, 2026); ALEKS FAQ.
- Pearson: AI Study Tool; MyLab student help; Terms of Use.
- IXL: Terms of Service (updated September 30, 2026); SecureTest overview guide. Edgenuity: Student Quick Start Guide, hosted by Imagine Learning.
- Silent Student: pricing, FAQ (AI model providers), system requirements.
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Background: AI that does your homework, is using an AI homework bot cheating?, is Silent Student legit?, benchmark.
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