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Let’s take a look at a pair of initiatives now being taken on by OpenAI, a front-runner in artificial intelligence innovation, near the end of 2025.

The first one gets top billing from The Information where writers notify audiences that OpenAI is due to more broadly release its “Operator” model that will basically function as an “AI coworker” in a human workspace.

The newest briefing directly from OpenAI shows how Operator is a Computer-Using Agent or CUA model, which can do things like book reservations online, or code projects, or automate various kinds of tasks that humans are used to doing themselves when they sit down to a laptop or desktop workstation.

Updates from OpenAI

If you navigate over to OpenAI to see what the latest news is on Operator, you get a brief update with the date-stamp July 17:

“Operator is now fully integrated into ChatGPT as ChatGPT agent. To access these updated capabilities, simply select “agent mode” from the dropdown in the composer and enter your query directly within ChatGPT. As a result, the standalone Operator site (operator.chatgpt.com) will sunset in the coming weeks.”

The rest of the post, with notes on what Operator is, how to use it, and even explainer videos, is from January, which is where most of the tech media coverage comes from as well. In addition, Sam Altman has not recently posted about Operator on his own blog, no matter what you may hear. He recently posted briefly to recognize the efforts of Jakub Pachocki, who replaced Ilya Sutskever, and Szymon Sidor. For reference, Altman did blog about the “gentle singularity” in June, and that does have relevance to Operator.

Can CUAs Use Smartphones?

When I researched whether this type of agent can interact with a smartphone as well as a computer, it was evident that this is a possibility.

Experts pointed out that it’s easier in the Android ecosystem, because the Apple iOS world has more of a walled garden. Here are some tasks that CUAs might do for you in a smartphone environment:

• Read and reply to texts or emails
• Navigate apps like Maps, Spotify, TikTok, or banking apps
• Automate repetitive phone tasks (e.g., checking alerts, filling forms)
• Act as a digital co-pilot for mobile users

Essentially, the model is working “at the interface level,” where systems are emulated, to accomplish these tasks for humans. In other words, think of it like this: whatever device you’re using, you’re still communicating through the same client-server connection using your IP address. So yes, CUAs can do that, whether it’s emulating the human’s use of a computer or a phone.

OpenAI Describes Operator’s Functionality

“Operator can “see” (through screenshots) and “interact” (using all the actions a mouse and keyboard allow) with a browser, enabling it to take action on the web without requiring custom API integrations,” write OpenAI staff. “If it encounters challenges or makes mistakes, Operator can leverage its reasoning capabilities to self-correct. When it gets stuck and needs assistance, it simply hands control back to the user, ensuring a smooth and collaborative experience.”

Now, there’s a lot of speculation about what this model can do in the average U.S. company. What tasks will humans give the CUA? What things will they keep in the human worker’s wheelhouse? And how do you foster a move toward assistive technology to ensure that “tools will not replace us?”

All of these questions will be answered in the production environment, in the real world, as the models roll out and become publicly available. Think of the whole thing as a complex laboratory – where you can see the results of new tools at work, in your workplace, or elsewhere.

The OpenAI Jobs Platform

Here’s another interesting development that you don’t want to miss: OpenAI is also, apparently, about to roll out a platform for human workers to match AI-savvy people with companies.

“If you’re a business looking to hire an AI-savvy employee, or you just need help with a specific task, finding the right person can be hit-or-miss,” explains Fidji Simo, OpenAI CEO of Applications, in a blog post. “The OpenAI Jobs Platform will have knowledgeable, experienced candidates at every level, and opportunities for anyone looking to put their skills to use. And we’ll use AI to help find the perfect matches between what companies need and what workers can offer.”

This one is more timely, as the blog post is dated September 4. The update on Operator, though, and related coverage, shows this tool is emerging right now, too.

The jobs platform is good news for human career professionals who are worried about having to compete with AI for work.

Lagging Behind

At the same time, reports like this one from McKinsey indicate businesses largely have not caught up to this new reality and what Operator promises the user community.

Authors there in a report called Superagency in the Workplace (again, relevant to Operator) cite Reid Hoffman’s book Superagency: What Could Possibly Go Right with Our AI Future, in analyzing the state of business today. (I blogged about a recent panel with Reid Hoffman at Imagination in Action at Stanford last week.)

“How can companies harness AI to amplify human agency and unlock new levels of creativity and productivity in the workplace?” McKinsey writers ask, arguing, through data points, that most U.S. companies are “not at AI maturity” and need to advance. “AI could drive enormous positive and disruptive change. This transformation will take some time, but leaders must not be dissuaded. Instead, they must advance boldly today to avoid becoming uncompetitive tomorrow.”

Looking Out for the Future

Here’s where the rubber meets the road. We are likely to see AI CUAs like Operator, and others, coming into our offices, joining our departments, and making contributions we can not yet imagine. That real-world experience is where we will actually see where AI is taking us, and what we can expect in the years to come. Stay tuned.