OpenAI will reportedly join the Microsoft/Salesforce AI agentic war with 'Operator' in January 2025: "I think 2025 is going to be the year that agentic systems finally hit the mainstream"

OpenAI logo on an Android phone.
OpenAI logo on an Android phone. (Image credit: Getty Images | SOPA Images)

What you need to know

  • OpenAI will reportedly ship an AI agent dubbed Operator in January 2025.
  • The tool is designed to help control computers and perform tasks autonomously.
  • OpenAI Chief Product Officer Kevin Weil hinted that 2025 would be the year agentic systems hit primetime.

OpenAI will reportedly ship an AI agent called Operator in January 2025. The agent is designed to control computers and perform redundant tasks autonomously (via Bloomberg). Such tasks could include "writing code or booking travel," where the AI agent takes the lead on the function.

The autonomous AI agent is set to ship as a research preview and "through the company’s application programming interface for developers." AI agentic wars are at an all-time high between companies like Microsoft and Salesforce. They are considered the next wave in the AI revolution, helping people where the AI can take multiple steps with little supervision to complete everyday tasks for workers.

Last month, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff threw jabs at Microsoft over its Copilot AI service, referring to it as the new Microsoft Clippy. Benioff further indicated that the tool doesn't work or deliver any value.

He claimed Microsoft's AI efforts are a "tremendous disservice" to the industry while touting Salesforce's Agentforce AI agent as the largest AI enterprise supplier in the world, doing "a couple of trillion AI transactions per week."

Microsoft announced that Copilot Studio will soon support the creation of autonomous agents. Salesforce CEO interpreted the announcement as "panic mode" on Microsoft's end:

"Microsoft rebranding Copilot as ‘agents’? That’s panic mode. Let’s be real—Copilot’s a flop because Microsoft lacks the data, metadata, and enterprise security models to create real corporate intelligence. That is why Copilot is inaccurate, spills corporate data, and forces customers to build their own LLMs. Clippy 2.0, anyone? Meanwhile, Agentforce is transforming businesses now."

The AI agentic war may get more aggressive with companies like Anthropic in the fold with its recently announced Computer Use API. Google is also slated to ship an AI agent in December.

While details regarding OpenAI's AI agent remain slim, Sam Altman recently gave subtle hints about the company's plan and future releases in a Reddit AMA (ask me anything) session, indicating AI models will improve with each release. During OpenAI's annual Dev Day conference in October, Chief Product Officer Kevin Weil indicated:

“I think 2025 is going to be the year that agentic systems finally hit the mainstream.”

Perhaps more concerning, a new report suggests that OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic are struggling to ship advanced AI models. The report attributed the concerns to insufficient high-quality data for model training and inadequate resources.

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Kevin Okemwa
Contributor

Kevin Okemwa is a seasoned tech journalist based in Nairobi, Kenya with lots of experience covering the latest trends and developments in the industry at Windows Central. With a passion for innovation and a keen eye for detail, he has written for leading publications such as OnMSFT, MakeUseOf, and Windows Report, providing insightful analysis and breaking news on everything revolving around the Microsoft ecosystem. You'll also catch him occasionally contributing at iMore about Apple and AI. While AFK and not busy following the ever-emerging trends in tech, you can find him exploring the world or listening to music.