Everything you need to know about OpenAI’s new agent for ChatGPT – including how to access it and what it can do
ChatGPT agent will bridge "research and action" – but OpenAI is keen to stress it's still a work in progress
OpenAI has unveiled an AI agent for ChatGPT users that can plan your meals, research and assemble slideshows, and plan your holidays – though the company has warned the tool remains in beta and could make mistakes.
The arrival of "ChatGPT agent" follows a flurry of agentic AI launches over the last year, with Salesforce, Anthropic, and Google all capitalizing on the big industry trend.
In a blog post announcing the tool, OpenAI said ChatGPT will be able to carry out tasks autonomously on user devices, handling “complex tasks from start to finish”.
Simply put, this means users will be able to automate an array of activities, letting it step beyond research and generation of text, images, and code.
“ChatGPT now thinks and acts, proactively choosing from a toolbox of agentic skills to complete tasks for you using its own computer,” the company said.
However, OpenAI warned that the agent remains in "early stages" and is considered a beta rather than a finished product.
"It’s capable of taking on a range of complex tasks, but it can still make mistakes," the company added.
What ChatGPT agent can do
OpenAI said ChatGPT agent is powered by a "unified agentic system" that brings together three tools:
- Operator, a tool that could navigate and interact with websites.
- Deep Research, for analyzing and understanding information.
- ChatGPT, to essentially talk through it all.
"By integrating these complementary strengths in ChatGPT and introducing additional tools, we’ve unlocked entirely new capabilities within one model," OpenAI said. "It can now actively engage websites — clicking, filtering, and gathering more precise, efficient results."
OpenAI gave a few examples of the agent's capabilities, explaining users could ask it to check calendars and make briefing notes for upcoming meetings by pulling in recent news.
The tool can also analyze competitors and make a slide deck, convert screenshots or dashboards into presentations, book or rearrange meetings, and update spreadsheets with financial data.
It can even plan and buy ingredients to make a "Japanese breakfast for four” and recurring tasks can be scheduled to run automatically.
Still some teething issues
OpenAI noted that the results remain imperfect. For slideshows, exporting to Powerpoint may lead to "discrepancies"..
"At the moment, outputs can sometimes feel rudimentary in its formatting and polish, particularly when starting without an existing document," the company admitted.
Beyond business use cases, OpenAI said ChatGPT agent could be used in your personal life to plan and book travel itineraries, design and arrange dinner parties, and schedule appointments.
It can also shop for you – OpenAI suggested trying to find a Japanese-inspired vintage-style samsara lamp on Etsy priced under £200 with free shipping — and book restaurants.
How ChatGPT agent works
The system uses its own browsers, a visual version as well as text based, to complete such actions, interacting with third-party tools such as Gmail and GitHub using ChatGPT connectors.
"ChatGPT will intelligently navigate websites, filter results, prompt you to log in securely when needed, run code, conduct analysis, and even deliver editable slideshows and spreadsheets that summarize its findings," the blog post noted.
ChatGPT agent also narrates its activities so it's clear what it's up to at any given point. OpenAI added that the agent can be halted at any time and even interrupted to "clarify" instructions.
Similarly, the agent may ask for more details itself.
"ChatGPT requests permission before taking actions of consequence, and you can easily interrupt, take over the browser, or stop tasks at any point," it said.
The company added that critical tasks such as sending an email require "active supervision" and any action that's deemed high risk, such as a bank transfer, will be refused.
OpenAI said it would continue to add features and improvements to the agent tool, saying "today's launch is just the beginning."
How to get your hands on OpenAI’s new agent tool
To use the new agent tool, users with a Pro, Plus, or Team subscription can enable "agent mode" in ChatGPT's "composer" bar.
Access will extend to Enterprise and Education users in the next few weeks, the company revealed.
"We are still working on enabling access for the European Economic Area and Switzerland," OpenAI noted, without explaining the delay, though it is immediately available in the UK.
Because of the launch of ChatGPT agent, the Operator preview will be shut down in a few weeks, though the deep research function will remain accessible in ChatGPT.
Real action means real risk
OpenAI warned that giving AI the ability to take actions and access your data comes with inherent risks – a recurring talking point since the agentic AI trend burst onto the scene late last year.
Research from Gartner, for example, shows concerns about agentic AI security risks have been grumbling away among enterprise IT leaders, prompting the rise of ‘guardian agents’ to monitor those working on the frontline for businesses.
OpenAI said it’s made efforts to implement “robust controls” and safeguards when handling sensitive information on the web, for example.
"While these mitigations significantly reduce risk, ChatGPT agent’s expanded tools and broader user reach mean its overall risk profile is higher."
The company noted it also had put work into protecting the agent from adversarial manipulation through prompt injection, which would allow hackers to take control of the tool or manipulate its actions.
"For example, a malicious prompt hidden in a webpage, such as in invisible elements or metadata, could trick the agent into taking unintended actions, like sharing private data from a connector with the attacker, or taking a harmful action on a site the user has logged into," OpenAI added.
"Because ChatGPT agent can take direct actions, successful attacks can have greater impact and pose higher risks."
All web inputs are private, the company revealed, meaning it does not collect or store any data such as passwords.
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