OpenAI's Operator, the company's first true AI agent capable of independently performing web-based tasks, received a significant upgrade in May 2025 when the company replaced its GPT-4o foundation with the more advanced o3 reasoning model.
Launched in January 2025 as a research preview, Operator represents a major advancement in agentic AI technology. The assistant operates through its own dedicated browser, allowing it to interact with websites by clicking, typing, and navigating much like a human would. This enables users to delegate repetitive online tasks such as booking travel accommodations, making restaurant reservations, ordering groceries, and filling out forms.
The May upgrade to the o3 model has substantially improved Operator's capabilities. According to OpenAI's benchmarks, the o3-powered version demonstrates significantly better persistence and accuracy during browser interactions, with performance improvements across multiple evaluation metrics. On the OSWorld benchmark measuring completion of browser-based tasks, the o3 model scored 42.9 compared to 38.1 for the previous version, while on WebArena, it achieved 62.9, up from 48.1.
Safety remains a central focus for OpenAI with this powerful agent. Operator employs a three-layered safety approach, including model-level safeguards, real-time monitoring, and user control mechanisms. The system is designed to request user takeover for sensitive actions like entering login credentials or payment information. It also maintains restrictions on high-risk interactions with platforms like email or financial services.
Currently, Operator is available to ChatGPT Pro subscribers in the United States for $200 monthly, with plans to expand access to Plus, Team, and Enterprise tiers. While European availability has been delayed due to regulatory considerations, OpenAI has indicated international expansion is forthcoming.
The latest June update to o3-pro, OpenAI's most capable model yet, suggests further enhancements to Operator may be on the horizon. As the AI agent landscape becomes increasingly competitive with offerings from Google, Anthropic, and others, OpenAI continues to position Operator as a leading solution for automating everyday digital tasks while maintaining important safety guardrails.