Kent Nishimura
- OpenAI wants to build a next-level personal assistant.
- The company is developing a ChatGPT agent that can effectively take over a customer's device.
- The software is one of two AI agents the company is working on, The Information reported.
OpenAI wants to build the ultimate personal assistant for the AI age.
The company is reportedly developing a ChatGPT agent that can effectively take over a customer's device.
A report from The Information said OpenAI is working on software that could autonomously complete tasks. The software is one of two AI agents the company is working on, the outlet reported, citing a person familiar with the efforts.
What key tasks can AI assistants take on?
OpenAI's software will focus on tasks that require text typing, cursor movements, or working with different apps, The Information reported.
CEO Sam Altman has reportedly told some developers he wants to turn ChatGPT into a "supersmart personal assistant for work," a business move that may cause friction with partner Microsoft.
Microsoft and Google have released early forms of AI agents for their respective workplace apps. The tech is at supercharging workers' productivity and can do things like draft emails and attend meetings in place of employees.
The tech is not perfect, however, and companies have cautioned workers to treat the programs like a rooky intern.
OpenAI's software, which has been in development for over a year, could be a game changer for the increasingly hot area of AI, per The Information.
Studies have shown that generative AI can significantly boost workers' productivity with some tasks, and the market gap has sparked the production of several AI agents over the last year.
Some tech leaders have also signaled the importance of the software.
Mustafa Suleyman, the cofounder of DeepMind, Google's AI division, estimated that AI would allow everyone to have their own personal assistant — or a bot "chief of staff" — in the next five years.
"It will be able to reason over your day, help you prioritize your time, help you invent, be much more creative," Suleyman, now the CEO of Inflection AI, told CNBC when describing AI. "It will be a research assistant, but it will also be a coach and companion."
Representatives for OpenAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider, made outside normal working hours.