OpenAI Unveils Operator for Task Automation

OpenAI is advancing its ChatGPT chatbot with a new feature that automates various tasks, such as planning vacations, completing forms, making restaurant reservations, and ordering groceries.

This new tool, named Operator, was launched on a Thursday announcement. OpenAI explains that Operator acts as "an agent that can go to the web to perform tasks for you". It is designed to interact with common web elements like buttons, menus, and text fields that users encounter regularly.

Moreover, Operator can ask follow-up questions to tailor the tasks it performs, such as obtaining login credentials for other websites. Users maintain control and can intervene at any point during the task execution.

In OpenAI's Thursday blog post, the company stated, "Operator is one of our first agents, which are AIs capable of doing work for you independently. You give it a task, and it will execute it."

Currently, Operator is exclusively available to ChatGPT Pro users and can be accessed at Operator.ChatGPT.com. However, OpenAI plans to extend this feature to Plus, Team, and Enterprise users in the future and aims to integrate Operator into the broader ChatGPT interface. The company noted that it is still developing certain functionalities, including calendar management and slideshow creation.

OpenAI, supported by Microsoft, allows users to opt out of some data collection practices. Users can disable the "Improve the model for everyone" setting within ChatGPT, ensuring that data collected by Operator won't be used for model training. Additionally, users have the option to delete all browsing data and log out from all sites with a simple click in the privacy settings.

Operator enters a competitive landscape, particularly against a recent offering from Anthropic. This Amazon-backed AI startup, founded by former OpenAI research leaders, launched a feature called "Computer Use" in October. This capability enables its AI agents to use computers similarly to humans for complex tasks. Anthropic claims its AI can interpret what appears on a computer's screen, select buttons, enter text, and navigate websites effectively.

The generative AI market, encapsulating companies like OpenAI and Anthropic alongside tech giants such as Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and Meta, is projected to exceed $1 trillion in revenue within the next decade.

Recently, Google agreed to invest over $1 billion in Anthropic. Reports indicate that Anthropic is also in discussions to raise $2 billion at a valuation of approximately $60 billion, primarily backed by Lightspeed Venture Partners.

OpenAI continues to work towards a future that may approach artificial general intelligence (AGI). AGI refers to AI systems that match or surpass human intelligence across a variety of tasks.

CEO of Scale AI, Alexandr Wang, shared in an interview that he views AGI as "powerful AI systems that can operate a computer in the same manner humans do." He estimates that achieving such technology may take two to four more years.

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