OpenAI is finally getting in on the AI agent game. The generative AI startup has launched ChatGPT Agent, which allows its chatbot to perform multi-step tasks on behalf of users. This includes planning meetings, generating presentations, and using tools like a code terminal or web browser.
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The new tool is currently only available to paid users. Pro subscribers can use up to 400 agent prompts per month, while Plus and Team users are limited to 40. Access for Enterprise and Education users is expected in the coming weeks.
It follows a slew of other major tech players such as Google, Salesforce and HubSpot investing heavily in agentic AI over the past 12 months.
It also comes right off the back of OpenAI announcing its own browser just last week, hot on the heels of Perplexity AI.
How OpenAI’s ChatGPT Agent works
According to OpenAI, ChatGPT Agent “brings together three strengths of earlier breakthroughs: Operator’s ability to interact with websites, deep research’s skill in synthesising information, and ChatGPT’s intelligence and conversational fluency”.
Users can prompt ChatGPT to complete instructions such as “look at my calendar and brief me on upcoming client meetings based on recent news,” or “analyse three competitors and create a slide deck”.
The agent operates using its own virtual computer and can switch between tools, including a text browser, a visual browser, a code terminal, and third-party app connectors such as Gmail and GitHub.
OpenAI says this combination enables the model to “fluidly shift between reasoning and action to handle complex workflows from start to finish”.
ChatGPT Agent is designed for collaboration, OpenAI says. Users can interrupt, take control of the browser, or redirect tasks partway through, and ChatGPT will adjust accordingly.
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“It will pick up where it left off, now with the new information, but without losing previous progress,” the company said in a blog post.
What ChatGPT Agent can’t do yet
However, the tool is not built for real-time responsiveness. In a demonstration, ChatGPT Agent took around 25 minutes to generate a slide deck based on company earnings.
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Product lead Yash Kumar said that for many jobs, users can “kick something off in the background and then come back to it”. Research lead Isa Fulford added, “Even if it takes 15 minutes, half an hour, it’s quite a big speed-up compared to how long it would take you to do it”.
Some features, including memory, have been disabled at launch due to security concerns. “It’s not that we don’t think it’s safe,” Kumar told The Verge, “we’re just taking an extra precaution”.
ChatGPT Agent sets new AI benchmark scores but also raises safety questions
OpenAI says the model behind ChatGPT Agent significantly outperforms previous versions of its technology across a range of benchmark tests.
But the rollout comes with heightened risk. OpenAI has classified the model as having “High Biological and Chemical capabilities” under its internal Preparedness Framework — a designation used when a model could potentially “amplify existing pathways to severe harm”.
“While we don’t have definitive evidence that the model could meaningfully help a novice create severe biological harm — our threshold for High capability — we are exercising caution and implementing the needed safeguards now,” OpenAI said.
The company says it has implemented new mitigations to reduce the risk of real-world misuse. That includes explicit user confirmation before taking irreversible actions, and “Watch Mode,” which requires users to supervise higher-risk tasks such as sending emails or interacting with financial websites.
OpenAI has also introduced protections against prompt injection, which it describes as malicious instructions hidden in content the agent might encounter online.
“Because ChatGPT agent can take direct actions, successful attacks can have greater impact and pose higher risks,” the company wrote.
Still, according to OpenAI, today’s release is “just the beginning”. The company says it plans to improve the agent’s capabilities and polish them over time.
“We expect continued improvements to ChatGPT Agent’s efficiency, depth, and versatility over time, including more seamless interactions,” OpenAI said.
