diff --git a/src/providers/chatgpt.py b/src/providers/chatgpt.py
index 86707f8..1379647 100644
--- a/src/providers/chatgpt.py
+++ b/src/providers/chatgpt.py
@@ -4,19 +4,23 @@ import logging
 import os
 from typing import Any
 
-from src.providers.base import BaseProvider, ProviderError
+from src.providers.base import BaseProvider, ProviderError, REQUEST_TIMEOUT
 
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
 BASE_URL = "https://chatgpt.com/backend-api"
+AUTH_SESSION_URL = "https://chatgpt.com/api/auth/session"
 
 
 class ChatGPTProvider(BaseProvider):
     """Provider for ChatGPT conversations via the internal web API.
 
-    Authentication: Authorization: Bearer <CHATGPT_SESSION_TOKEN>
-    Token: __Secure-next-auth.session-token cookie value (a JWT).
-    Typical validity: ~7 days.
+    Authentication is a two-step process:
+      1. Send __Secure-next-auth.session-token as a Cookie header to
+         /api/auth/session to obtain a short-lived accessToken.
+      2. Use that accessToken as the Bearer token for all backend-api calls.
+
+    Token: __Secure-next-auth.session-token cookie (~7 day lifetime).
     """
 
     provider_name = "chatgpt"
@@ -33,20 +37,60 @@ class ChatGPTProvider(BaseProvider):
                     "Run 'python -m src.main auth' to configure it."
                 ),
             )
-        # Never log the token value
+        self._session_token = token
         self._session.headers.update(
             {
-                "Authorization": f"Bearer {token}",
                 "Referer": "https://chatgpt.com/",
                 "Origin": "https://chatgpt.com",
             }
         )
-        logger.debug("[chatgpt] Session initialised (token: [REDACTED])")
+        # Exchange the session cookie for an access token immediately
+        self._access_token: str = self._fetch_access_token(token)
+        self._session.headers["Authorization"] = f"Bearer {self._access_token}"
+        logger.debug("[chatgpt] Session initialised — access token obtained (token: [REDACTED])")
+
+    def _fetch_access_token(self, session_token: str) -> str:
+        """Exchange the session cookie for a Bearer access token.
+
+        Calls GET /api/auth/session with the session cookie, which returns
+        {"accessToken": "...", "user": {...}}.
+        """
+        logger.debug("[chatgpt] Fetching access token from %s", AUTH_SESSION_URL)
+        try:
+            resp = self._session.get(
+                AUTH_SESSION_URL,
+                headers={"Cookie": f"__Secure-next-auth.session-token={session_token}"},
+                timeout=REQUEST_TIMEOUT,
+            )
+            resp.raise_for_status()
+            data = resp.json()
+        except Exception as e:
+            raise ProviderError(
+                self.provider_name,
+                "fetch_access_token",
+                RuntimeError(
+                    f"Could not exchange session token for access token: {e}. "
+                    "Check that your CHATGPT_SESSION_TOKEN is current."
+                ),
+            ) from e
+
+        access_token = data.get("accessToken")
+        if not access_token:
+            raise ProviderError(
+                self.provider_name,
+                "fetch_access_token",
+                RuntimeError(
+                    "No accessToken in /api/auth/session response. "
+                    "Your session token may be expired — run 'python -m src.main auth' to refresh."
+                ),
+            )
+        return access_token
 
     def _handle_401(self) -> None:
         msg = (
             "[chatgpt] Authentication failed (401 Unauthorized). "
             "Your __Secure-next-auth.session-token has likely expired (~7 day lifetime). "
+            "The session token is used to obtain a short-lived access token via /api/auth/session. "
             "To refresh: open chatgpt.com in Chrome → F12 → Application → Cookies "
             "→ find '__Secure-next-auth.session-token' → copy the value. "
             "Then run 'python -m src.main auth' or update CHATGPT_SESSION_TOKEN in .env."