- OpenAI has introduced a new tool called ChatGPT agent for handling online tasks autonomously
- ChatGPT Agent can navigate websites, manage calendars, run code, and build slideshows from a single natural-language prompt
- The agent can execute tasks across apps and services, though it will seek user approval before some actions
OpenAI is rolling out a new feature for ChatGPT designed to make the AI chatbot a semi-autonomous digital assistant. CEO Sam Altman and several other OpenAI luminaries demonstrated the new ChatGPT Agent tool in a livestream, showcasing how it functions similarly to OpenAI's Operator tool, combined with the Deep Research feature.
ChatGPT Agent can complete real-world tasks on your computer from a prompt and create long, complex reports about what it finds online. It can also link with other programs and accounts, meaning it could manage your calendar, whip up a PowerPoint presentation, and hunt through websites the way a human would.
The rollout is currently only for subscribers of ChatGPT Pro, Plus, or Team, so free users are out of luck at the moment. You can activate the agent by choosing “agent mode” from the ChatGPT tool menu.
This is more than just a new feature to add to ChatGPT's list. ChatGPT Agent reorients the AI chatbot entirely. Typically, you would ask ChatGPT a question, receive an answer, open another app, and perform an action based on the answer, and so on. Now, you can say, “Help me plan a trip to Tokyo, find three hotels under $150 a night, and put them into a table with pros and cons,” and the AI will carry it all out at once.
And while ChatGPT Agent incorporates some of Operator and Deep Research's elements, it has the unique ability to integrate everything into a single task seamlessly. Say you want to make dinner reservations – it will not only pull up options for places to eat, but it can also check your calendar to see when you're free. You could ask it to compare products and get a personalized buyer's guide with reviews, prices, and availability.
It also has safeguards against going too far and will ask for approval before sending a reservation request or connecting to your Gmail account. For the average person playing around with ChatGPT, this is the kind of leap forward that makes AI feel less like a clever novelty and more like a useful tool worth paying for, which, of course, is something OpenAI hopes many people feel about it.
Agent AI
The livestreamed announcement included several examples from Altman and his team of using ChatGPT Agent for practical tasks. They asked it to “plan and buy ingredients to make a Japanese breakfast for four” and “analyze three competitors and create a slide deck.” But that barely scratches the surface of what people might do with an AI agent.
I immediately envisioned people asking for help for everything from long-term travel itineraries, specific gift-shopping needs, and even ideas on making emails less passive-aggressive.
Keeping it embedded in ChatGPT is a smart move, too. Without needing to install anything new, the average user is much more likely actually to try out the Agent. Of course, giving any AI that much agency raises obvious questions of safety, but OpenAI made a big deal about how much effort they've put into safety guardrails.
If your request even remotely hints at trying to engineer something shady, the system flags it, reroutes it, and in some cases, shuts it down entirely. There are even layers of screening for tasks that sound innocent but might lead to harmful outcomes. In other words, you can't get it to design and build a drug cartel for you, no matter how politely you ask.
Mainly, though, the ChatGPT Agent reworks the AI chatbot into a more active partner in helping with the little details of your life that need a hand. It offers action along with answers, at least if you're willing to pay for the privilege.
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