OpenAI released ChatGPT Agent on Thursday.
The company said the new tool can tackle complex tasks "using its own computer."
That includes requests like "look at my calendar and brief me on upcoming client meetings based on recent news" and "plan and buy ingredients to make Japanese breakfast for four," the company said in its announcement.
During a livestream, CEO Sam Altman said the idea for ChatGPT Agent came after OpenAI launched its other agents, Operator and Deep Research. Operator uses its own browser to perform tasks, while Deep Research can do multi-step investigations on the internet.
"It became clear to us that what people really wanted was for us to bring those capabilities together," Altman said. "People wanted a unified agent that could go off, use its own computer, and do real complex tasks for them."
ChatGPT Agent is now available for certain users.
"Starting today, Pro, Plus, and Team users can activate ChatGPT's new agentic capabilities directly through the tools dropdown from the composer by selecting 'agent mode' at any point in any conversation," the company said.
The release is a much-needed distraction from what has been a bumpy summer for the world's premier AI startup, which in March was valued at $300 billion after raising another $40 billion.
OpenAI has faced increased competition from Big Tech giants like Meta, Google, Amazon, and Microsoft recently. Google, for example, hired staffers from AI coding assistant startup Windsurf after its deal with OpenAI collapsed. Meta poached several of OpenAI's top staffers to bolster its own ranks, and Amazon is developing a potentially unflattering film about Altman.
It's also navigating disagreements with its largest investor, Microsoft, and a trademark suit related to its much-hyped acquisition of io, the design company founded by famed Apple designer Jony Ive.
Elon Musk's xAI, meanwhile, released the latest version of its chatbot, Grok, this month. OpenAI, on the other hand, delayed the release of its own new model.
With the release of ChatGPT Agent, OpenAI is reminding everyone that it's still, for now, the leading AI company out there.
ChatGPT Agent will allow users to do all kinds of things, including parsing data and creating spreadsheets and slides, competing directly with Microsoft and Google.
