OpenAI Operator

OpenAI Operator represents a major leap toward hands-free computing, automating end-to-end web interactions. The o3 upgrade significantly improved reliability and safety, but Operator still struggles with complex, multi-step workflows. It shines for repetitive, structured tasks yet remains error-prone in unstructured settings. With its scheduled deprecation in favor of ChatGPT Agent, Operator is best seen as a pioneering milestone and transitional product.

Overview Our Review

Fast Facts

Developer / Organization: OpenAI
Initial Release Date: January 23, 2025
Availability: Released as a research preview to ChatGPT Pro subscribers in the U.S. starting February 1, 2025
Status: Scheduled for shutdown by August 31, 2025 (deprecated after ChatGPT Agent release)
Recent Upgrade: Switched from GPT-4o to an o3-based model (“CUA model”) on May 23, 2025—improved persistence, safety, reasoning, and benchmark performance

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Added January 2026

Chloe Lau

Developer Tools

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