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After weeks of rumors of OpenAI launching a web browser, today it debuted "agent." The ChatGPT feature performs tasks for you from start to finish using "it's own computer"—but your login credentials, if necessary.
OpenAI offered many examples of how you could use agent, and all will require a $20-per-month ChatGPT Plus subscription. You could ask the chatbot to check your calendar and brief you on the upcoming meetings, or plan a meal and then purchase groceries on your GrubHub account, for example.
"It’s still early days, so it may not be perfect yet—but it’s already pretty powerful," OpenAI tells us.
It can also tap into your Google Drive, GitHub, or SharePoint. OpenAI calls these "connectors," because they hook into your ChatGPT account "so you can search, reference, and work faster—all without leaving the conversation."
If you're worried about the AI going rogue and accessing a high-risk system like a bank account, OpenAI insists agent "requests permission before taking actions of consequence, and you can easily interrupt, take over the browser, or stop tasks at any point." Still, it's probably smart not to give it your most confidential credentials.
Another notable feature is that agent can create spreadsheets and slide decks in Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint, all without the user visiting those tools. ChatGPT compiles the data into an Excel spreadsheet and sends you the file to download through the chat window. It doesn't support Google Slides or Sheets.
Microsoft is a major investor in OpenAI, so it likely had a say in this capability. At the same time, you could see how ChatGPT could pull users from Microsoft 365 products, which might not be in Microsoft's best long-term interest. The move puts OpenAI in more direct competition with Microsoft, The Wall Street Journal argues.
OpenAI says the tech behind agent is a new "unified agentic system" that combines three of its products: Operator, Deep Research, and ChatGPT's conversational capabilities. Meaning, through the chat window you can ask it to automatically scan the web and do thorough research, and then complete actions for you with that information.
The model scores highly on Humanity's Last Exam, OpenAI self-reports. This test evaluates an AI's performance across a broad range of subjects, and Elon Musk says the latest model behind his Grok chatbot aces it.
