Initially, OpenAI is releasing what it calls a “research preview” of Operator online to a limited number of US customers who pay US$200 ($271) per month for the recently introduced ChatGPT Pro subscription. The company said it hopes to learn from Operator’s early users so it can improve the product and plans to offer it to more paid customers over time. It also plans to release additional AI agents in the coming months, OpenAI chief executive officer Sam Altman said during a livestream introducing the product.
OpenAI is rolling out an artificial intelligence (AI) tool that can help book flights, plan grocery orders and even complete purchases for users, joining a growing number of tech companies betting on so-called AI agents that act on a person’s behalf.
The service, called Operator, can carry out a wide range of tasks by using the internet much in the way a human would, including navigating to a website, typing and clicking buttons, OpenAI said on Thursday. Operator’s software works by combining some of OpenAI’s computer-vision features with multi-step problem-solving capabilities meant to mimic how people reason, the company said. Bloomberg News first reported on OpenAI’s plans for Operator in November.
