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OpenAI's next product could book flights and more by taking over your PC
- OpenAI is reportedly close to launching an AI agent that can perform actions on a user’s behalf.
- The AI agent, codenamed Operator, would be able to write code or book travel via your computer.
- The news comes after other tech companies launched so-called agentic AI applications and tools.
OpenAI’s ChatGPT popularized the new generation of AI chatbots, which are capable of a variety of tasks. What if these chatbots could do stuff for you on your PC? It sounds like OpenAI could offer this functionality in the near future.
Bloomberg reports that the tech company is working on an AI agent purportedly codenamed “Operator.” This agent would be able to perform actions on a computer on behalf of the user, with the outlet giving specific examples such as writing code or booking travel.
OpenAI reportedly told employees during a meeting that this Operator AI agent would launch in January as a research preview via the company’s developer API. The company is apparently working on several agent-related projects, and the outlet reports that the one closest to completion is a tool that can conduct tasks in a web browser. It’s unclear if this tool and the Operator agent are the same thing.
Agentic AI: The next big trend
As Bloomberg notes, this wouldn’t be the first agentic AI service or app. Anthropic launched AI agent functionality last month in conjunction with its Claude AI model. Google is also reportedly working on a so-called Jarvis agent that could be previewed as soon as next month. Jarvis will apparently take over your browser and complete tasks such as conducting research for you, booking flights, and more.
Even smartphone companies are now focusing on agentic AI technologies. HONOR recently launched the Magic 7 series phones, which have an upgraded YoYo assistant that can autonomously accomplish tasks after a simple command. One example showcased by the manufacturer was asking the assistant to order a latte, with the chatbot then able to open your desired delivery app, access your favorite coffee shop, place the order, and verify payment with the user. HONOR also claims that this upgraded YoYo assistant can manage subscription auto-renewal, fill out forms, and more.
This support for AI agents has even filtered down to mobile chips. MediaTek’s flagship Dimensity 9400 chipset supports a so-called Agentic AI Engine framework to streamline AI agent development on smartphones. So, it certainly sounds like we should expect more AI agents on both PCs and smartphones in 2025.