logo
OpenAI launches personal assistant capable of controlling files and web browsers

OpenAI launches personal assistant capable of controlling files and web browsers

The Guardian17-07-2025
Users of ChatGPT will be able to ask an AI agent to find restaurant reservations, go shopping for them and even draw up lists of candidates for job vacancies, as the chatbot gains the powers of a personal assistant from Thursday.
ChatGPT agent, launched by Open AI everywhere apart from the EU, not only 'thinks' but also acts, the US company said. The agent combines the powers of AI research tools with the ability to take control of web browsers, computer files and software such as spreadsheets and slide decks.
It follows the launch of similar 'agents' by Google and Anthropic as interest grows in AI models that can handle computer-based tasks by judging which software is best to use and toggling between systems to autonomously complete assignments like drafting travel itineraries or carrying out work research.
'The hope is that agents are able to bring some real utility to users – to actually do things for them rather than just outputting polished text and sounding impressive,' said Niamh Burns, senior media analyst at Enders Analysis.
But Open AI has acknowledged that allowing an AI agent even limited reign over computer systems meant that 'with this model there are more risks than with previous models'.
While it is intended to help people with everyday tasks, its potential power means OpenAI has felt the need to introduce safeguards to ensure no agents enable the creation of biological hazards.
'While we don't have definitive evidence that the model could meaningfully help a novice create severe biological harm,' the company said, 'we are exercising caution and implementing the needed safeguards now.'
The model has been trained to confirm with the user before it takes any kind of destructive or irreversible action. The company said in a blog: 'You're always in control. ChatGPT requests permission before taking actions of consequence, and you can easily interrupt, take over the browser, or stop tasks at any point.'
The launch of the agent also triggered speculation the tech company could hope to earn revenues if the agents guide users to retail checkouts. The OpenAI chief executive, Sam Altman, has previously said it could charge a 2% fee on sales generated through its 'deep research' software.
Sign up to TechScape
A weekly dive in to how technology is shaping our lives
after newsletter promotion
Burns, an independent analyst, said: 'It's easy to say the system will require your approval before making a purchase, but what goes into the process of that system finding the products? Would there be commercial deals where brands pay to be featured by assistants, or cases where they might feature their own products more than competitors?
'These AI companies are under growing pressure to monetise their products, so some version of ads or sponsored placement feels inevitable.'
OpenAI said the agent does not include sponsored product recommendations and there are no plans to change that.
A demonstration of the software this week showed it being asked to look at a user's Google calendar, pick a weeknight when they were free between 6pm and 9pm, seek available tables at Italian, sushi or Korean restaurants with ratings of at least 4.3 stars, and give the user some options.
The task took between 10 and 15 minutes and, as with a human assistant, the user could interrupt and set the AI agent off in a different direction. Equally the agent can ask the user for clearer instructions.
Another key risk is that the agent falls victim to malicious prompts that may be hidden on websites its visits, which could, for example, demand the agent hands over some of the user's data.
OpenAI said it ran multiple safety checks and trained the agent to reject certain suspicious requests including demands for bank transfers. The system will initially be available to users who pay monthly subscriptions to access the 'pro', 'plus' and 'teams' versions of the model.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Trump says 50-50 odds of trade deal with EU
Trump says 50-50 odds of trade deal with EU

Daily Mail​

time19 minutes ago

  • Daily Mail​

Trump says 50-50 odds of trade deal with EU

Published: | Updated: President Donald Trump gave even odds for reaching a trade deal with the European Union as he left Washington to begin his trip to Scotland – with a path to a solution where the Europeans 'buy down' the tariffs he is imposing. 'I would say that we have a fifty-fifty chance,' Trump said, amid reports that the two sides are narrowing in on a possible deal. 'Maybe less than that,' he hedged. 'But a fifty-fifty chance of making a deal with the EU. And It will be a deal where they have to buy down their tariffs. Because they're right now at 30 percent,' Trump said, referencing the tariff set to take effect by the new 'doomsday' August 1 deadline unless there is an agreement. 'They'll have to buy them down - maybe. Or they can leave them the way they are.' Trump, using a favorite negotiating tactic, described his counterparts as desperate. 'But they want to make a deal very badly. I would have said we have a 25 percent chance with Japan and they kept coming back and we made a deal,' Trump said. He was referencing the deal he announced days ago, which has Japan paying a 15 percent tariff, lower than the threatened 25 percent tariff, while opening markets to U.S. exporters. Trump and his top negotiators continue to gush about the Japanese investment – while describing it in terms different than what is coming out of Tokyo. 'Don't forget Japan's putting up $550 billion,' Trump said Friday. 'That's a lot of money. And also paying tariffs. The biggest part of the Japan deal and maybe we get this with EU maybe we don't is we have the right to go in and trade. They've totally opened Japan just for the U.S.' Trump made the comments as he left the White House at the start of a five-day trip that will have him visit his two Scottish golf courses – and meet with British PM Keir Starmer to try to 'refine' an existing U.S.-UK trade deal. He had earlier escalated his demands with the EU in mid-July by raising the tariff threat. In his Truth Social post announcing the deal, Trump said: 'Japan will invest, at my direction, $550 billion dollars into the United States, which will receive 90 percent of the profits.' Andy Laperriere, head of U.S. policy research at Piper Sandler, told CNBC that Japanese officials are 'describing it differently' and 'see the $550 billion figure as a cap and inclusive of government loan guarantees.' But Commerce Secretary Lutnick has been describing it as an investment kitty that Trump can personally direct to ramp up industrial production – with no mention of a legislative role. 'This is literally the Japanese government giving Donald Trump $550 billion, and says: Go fix whatever you need to fix,' he told host Laura Ingraham on Fox News. 'Donald Trump can take the Japanese money and say 'let's go build a factory. Let's get an American company to operate it, we'll lease them the factory. They don't make much money - so what. That's the beauty of this deal,' he said. As he calls for the Europeans to 'buy down' tariffs, Trump may have been emboldened by other moves besides the Japan deal. On Thursday, Columbia University reached a settlement with the Justice Department where it will pay $200 million and a civil rights investigation will be dropped.

US dollar gains, but set for weekly drop as Fed, BOJ in focus
US dollar gains, but set for weekly drop as Fed, BOJ in focus

Reuters

time20 minutes ago

  • Reuters

US dollar gains, but set for weekly drop as Fed, BOJ in focus

LONDON/NEW YORK, July 25 (Reuters) - The U.S. dollar advanced on Friday, bolstered by solid economic data that suggested the Federal Reserve was justified in taking a patient approach to cutting interest rates, while tariff negotiations showed more clarity. "The dollar regained some ground the past two days, after being on the defensive earlier in the week ... supported mostly by an encouraging set of U.S. economic data that argues for continued patience at the Fed," said Elias Haddad, senior markets strategist at Brown Brothers Harriman in London. The U.S. currency, however, showed little reaction to data showing new orders for key U.S.-manufactured capital goods unexpectedly fell in June while shipments of those products increased moderately. That suggested business spending on equipment slowed considerably in the second quarter. The greenback was set for its biggest weekly drop in a month, ahead of more tariff dialogue and central bank meetings next week, while sterling dipped after softer-than-expected British retail sales data. Both the Fed and the Bank of Japan are expected to hold rates steady at next week's policy meetings, but traders are focusing on the subsequent comments to gauge the timing of the next moves. Politics is a factor for both central banks, most dramatically in the U.S., where President Donald Trump once again pressed for lower interest rates on Thursday as he locked horns with Fed Chair Jerome Powell. Brown Brothers' Haddad said the Fed's monetary policy is being "overshadowed by the political pressure to lower interest rates. That's one of the reasons why I think the dollar's upside is limited." The dollar managed to recover a touch against the euro late on Thursday, however, after Trump said he did not intend to fire Powell, as he has frequently suggested he could. "The market relief was based on the fact that Trump refrained from calling for Powell to go, although that was based on Trump's view that Powell would 'do the right thing'," said Derek Halpenny, head of EMEA research at MUFG. He added, however, that "the theme of Fed independence being undermined by the White House will unlikely go away and remains a downside risk for the dollar." Falls against the euro and yen leave the dollar index , which measures the dollar against six other currencies, at 97.45, on track for a drop of 0.75% this week, its weakest performance in a month, though it bounced back 0.3% on Friday. Meanwhile, in Japan, though the trade deal signed with the U.S. this week could make it easier for the BOJ to continue rate hikes, the bruising loss for Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's coalition in upper house elections on Sunday complicates life for the BOJ. The yen was softer, thanks in part to below-expectations Tokyo inflation data, with the dollar last up 0.5% at 147.66 yen, though on course for a weekly 0.7% fall. The euro was down 0.2% at $1.1728 but set for a weekly gain of 0.8%. The common currency took some support Thursday from the European Central Bank meeting. Policymakers left the policy rate at 2%, as expected, but the bank's relatively upbeat assessment of the economic outlook and signs that an EU-U.S. trade deal is near caused investors to reassess previous assumptions of one more rate cut this year. In contrast, soft British data is supporting expectations of more Bank of England rate cuts, and causing euro zone bond yields to rise faster than British ones, supporting the euro against the pound. The euro rose as much as 0.23% on sterling to 87.27 pence on Friday, its highest since April, building on a 0.44% gain the previous day. Data on Friday showed British retail sales data for June slightly below analysts' expectations, albeit rebounding from a sharp drop in May, after figures on Thursday showed business activity grew only weakly in July and employers cut jobs at the fastest pace in five months. The pound was last down 0.6% on the dollar at $1.3434 .

Wall Street, dollar firms ahead of a big week for market risk
Wall Street, dollar firms ahead of a big week for market risk

Reuters

time21 minutes ago

  • Reuters

Wall Street, dollar firms ahead of a big week for market risk

NEW YORK, July 25 (Reuters) - Wall Street and the dollar firmed on Friday as investors girded themselves for the week ahead, which includes a Federal Reserve policy meeting, crucial corporate results and U.S. President Donald Trump's August 1 deadline for negotiating trade deals. "Some deals will be done and talks will continue, and Trump may push out the deadline further," said Tim Ghriskey, senior portfolio strategist at Ingalls & Snyder in New York. "Trump's process is to shock and then be reasonable in terms of tariffs." All three indexes were modestly green in early trading, and were on course for weekly gains. Gold lost some shine, pressured by the dollar as healthy risk appetites lured investors away from the safe-haven metal. With Trump's negotiating deadline just a week away, the U.S. and its trading partners are scrambling to reach trade agreements, with European negotiators heartened by the deal with Japan announced on Tuesday. Intel's shares INTC.O, opens new tab dropped 8.8% after the chipmaker forecast steeper-than-expected quarterly losses and said it had halted or scrapped new factory projects in the U.S. and Europe. More than a third of the companies in the S&P 500 have posted results, 80% of which have beaten estimates, according to LSEG data. Analysts now expect year-on-year second-quarter earnings growth of 7.7%, compared with the 5.8% estimate as of July 1. Four members of the Magnificent 7 group of Artificial Intelligence-related megacap stocks - Amazon (AMZN.O), opens new tab, Apple (AAPL.O), opens new tab, Meta (META.O), opens new tab and Microsoft (MSFT.O), opens new tab are on next week's earnings docket, and market participants will scrutinize the companies' conference calls for signs that AI expenditures are beginning to pay off and whether tariff-related uncertainties continue to weigh on forward guidance. U.S. economic data released on Friday showed an unexpected decline in new orders for core capital goods, as companies hold back on big ticket purchases amid the fog of ongoing trade talks. The Fed is expected to convene next week for its two-day monetary policy meeting, which is expected to culminate in a decision to let its federal funds target rate stand in the 4.25% to 4.50% range. The meeting comes at a moment in which Fed Chair Jerome Powell is facing criticism from Trump for not cutting rates. "I don't expect Powell to change what he does, nor should he," Ghriskey added. "The idea of lower interest rates should scare us because Fed has had this huge job of bringing down inflation, and to ease rates at this point is clearly going to be inflationary." The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI), opens new tab rose 113.54 points, or 0.25%, to 44,806.30, the S&P 500 (.SPX), opens new tab rose 16.19 points, or 0.26%, to 6,379.67 and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC), opens new tab rose 44.40 points, or 0.21%, to 21,102.36. European shares gave back some of the previous session's gains as market participants parsed mixed corporate earnings and awaited developments in the U.S.-EU trade negotiations. MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe (.MIWD00000PUS), opens new tab fell 1.01 points, or 0.11%, to 940.34. The pan-European STOXX 600 (.STOXX), opens new tab index fell 0.29%, while Europe's broad FTSEurofirst 300 index (.FTEU3), opens new tab fell 5.34 points, or 0.24%. Emerging market stocks (.MSCIEF), opens new tab fell 10.36 points, or 0.82%, to 1,256.93. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS), opens new tab closed lower by 0.95%, to 661.07, while Japan's Nikkei (.N225), opens new tab fell 370.11 points, or 0.88%, to 41,456.23. U.S. Treasury yields drifted higher in a subdued trading as investors braced for a data-heavy week, updates on U.S. trade talks, and a Federal Reserve policy meeting. The yield on benchmark U.S. 10-year notes rose 0.2 basis points to 4.41%, from 4.408% late on Thursday. The 30-year bond yield rose 0.5 basis points to 4.9543% from 4.949% late on Thursday. The 2-year note yield, which typically moves in step with interest rate expectations for the Federal Reserve, fell 0.6 basis points to 3.919%, from 3.925% late on Thursday. The dollar gained strength but remained on course for its biggest drop in a month as investors focused on tariff negotiations and central bank meetings on the calendar for next week. The dollar index , which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies including the yen and the euro, rose 0.28% to 97.72, with the euro down 0.2% at $1.173. Against the Japanese yen , the dollar strengthened 0.4% to 147.57. In cryptocurrencies, bitcoin fell 3.08% to $115,133.22. Ethereum declined 2.63% to $3,641.43. U.S. crude fell 0.56% to $65.63 a barrel and Brent fell to $68.91 per barrel, down 0.39% on the day. Gold prices dropped in opposition to the firming dollar, amid growing optimism surrounding U.S.-EU trade talks. Spot gold fell 0.93% to $3,336.52 an ounce. U.S. gold futures fell 0.85% to $3,342.50 an ounce.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store