Article
In the Past Week, OpenAI’s Operator Has Done the Following Things for Me
- Ordered me a new ice cream scoop on Amazon.
- Bought me a new domain name and configured its settings.
- Booked a Valentine’s Day date for me and my wife.
- Scheduled a haircut.
These tasks were mostly accomplished autonomously, although I did have to nudge it along from time to time and occasionally rescue it from a loop of failed attempts.
What is OpenAI’s Operator?
Operator is a new AI agent released by OpenAI, available only to users who pay $200 a month for the company’s highest subscription tier, ChatGPT Pro. It allows users to direct an AI agent that can use a web browser, fill out forms, and take other actions on a user’s behalf.
How Does Operator Work?
Operator looks a bit like regular ChatGPT, except when you give it a job – "Buy me a 30-pound bag of dog food on Amazon," for example – Operator opens a miniature browser window, types "Amazon.com" into the address bar, and starts clicking around, trying to follow your instructions. It might ask a few clarifying questions, and then, once it’s feeling confident, Operator prompts you for a final confirmation, puts the dog food in your cart, and places the order.
Impressive Capabilities
Operator did impressively well on a few relatively simple tasks I gave it:
- It successfully ordered lunch on DoorDash for my colleague Mike and sent it to his house.
- It responded to hundreds of unread LinkedIn messages for me, after I gave it control of my LinkedIn profile.
- It made $1.20 for me by setting up accounts on websites that offer small cash rewards for filling out surveys.
Limitations and Failures
However, Operator also failed at a bunch of other tasks and revealed its limitations:
- It couldn’t scan my recent columns and add them to my personal website, because Operator’s browser was blocked from entering the Times’s website.
- It wouldn’t play online poker for me.
- It was prevented from logging into a number of sites by CAPTCHA tests.
Conclusion
Using Operator was usually more trouble than it was worth. Most of what it did for me I could have done faster myself, with fewer headaches. Even when it worked, it asked for so many confirmations and reassurances before acting that I felt less like I had a virtual assistant and more like I was supervising the world’s most insecure intern.
FAQs
Q: What is OpenAI’s Operator?
A: OpenAI’s Operator is a new AI agent that can use a web browser, fill out forms, and take other actions on a user’s behalf.
Q: How does Operator work?
A: Operator opens a miniature browser window, types the website’s URL into the address bar, and starts clicking around, trying to follow the user’s instructions.
Q: What are the limitations of Operator?
A: Operator is still in its early stages and has limitations, including difficulty with CAPTCHA tests, inability to access certain websites, and need for human intervention to complete tasks.
Q: Is Operator worth the $200 monthly fee?
A: Not at this stage, as most of what it does can be done faster and with fewer headaches by humans. However, it’s an intriguing demo of what AI agents can do, and future versions may be more capable.
