Meet Operator: The AI Assistant That Does Your Online Shopping
OpenAI released Operator on January 23, 2025—the first major AI agent that autonomously controls web browsers. The agent era officially began.
On January 23, 2025, OpenAI launched Operator—an AI agent that controls your web browser.
Book concert tickets. Order groceries. Fill out forms. Complete reservations.
Operator did what chatbots couldn't: it took action in the real world.
What It Did
Browser control: Moved the cursor, clicked buttons, filled forms Multi-step tasks: Completed complex workflows across sites Visual understanding: Saw pages like a human would Autonomous operation: Worked independently with minimal guidance Human confirmation: Asked permission before critical actions
It was ChatGPT with hands.
The Technology Behind It
Powered by CUA (Computer-Using Agent), a specialized model built on GPT-4o:
- Vision capabilities to see web pages
- Action planning for multi-step workflows
- Error recovery when things went wrong
- Learning from successful completions
CUA was trained specifically for browser automation—not general chat.
The Use Cases
Online shopping: Compare prices, add to cart, checkout Travel booking: Search flights, select seats, complete purchases Administrative tasks: Fill government forms, schedule appointments Research: Gather information from multiple sources Data entry: Transfer information between sites
Anything you did repeatedly online, Operator could handle.
The Access Model
ChatGPT Pro exclusive: Required $200/month subscription initially US-only launch: Limited geographic availability Supervised mode: Human approval for sensitive actions Browser-based: Worked through a specialized interface
Not available to most users at launch.
Operator vs Claude Computer Use
Anthropic launched Computer Use in October 2024. How did Operator compare?
Operator advantages:
- Better benchmark performance
- More reliable action completion
- Optimized specifically for web browsing
- Polished user interface
Claude advantages:
- Could control entire desktop, not just browser
- Available sooner (4 months earlier)
- Lower subscription tier ($20/month)
Both represented the same trend: AI moving from chat to action.
The Safety Concerns
Giving AI browser control raised questions:
- Payment information: Could it access credit cards?
- Personal data: What does it see and store?
- Mistakes: What if it books the wrong flight?
- Malicious use: Could it be weaponized?
OpenAI required human confirmation for financial transactions and sensitive operations.
The Agent Era Begins
Operator marked a milestone: AI agents were no longer demos or research projects.
They were consumer products you could subscribe to.
The shift from "AI that answers" to "AI that acts" was complete.
Where Are They Now?
Operator expanded beyond Pro tier through early 2025, though geographic restrictions remained. Early users found it useful for repetitive online tasks but unreliable for complex workflows.
The technology worked. The question was whether people wanted to delegate their online life to AI.
January 23, 2025 was when OpenAI officially entered the agent business—not with APIs for developers, but with a product for anyone willing to let AI handle their browser.