Smooth Operator?

The good, the bad and the ugly about a new AI agent

- STORY BY LARK GOULD

IN A WORLD where we already have robots that vacuum our floors and apps that order our groceries, OpenAI has decided to up the ante with its latest creation: Operator. This AI agent, which can autonomously perform tasks like booking travel, making restaurant reservations and shopping online, is being hailed as a game changer. But is it?

Powered by something called the Computer-Using Agent model, Operator can navigate websites, click buttons, fill out forms and even correct its own mistakes (sometimes). It's like having a personal assistant, except this one occasionally books you a one-way ticket to Bucharest instead of Boston. And for a price. The AI platform is available only to ChatGPT Pro subscribers in the U.S. for $200 a month—perhaps the rate of an OpenTable dinner it just booked, hopefully in the right city.

THE GOOD OPERATOR