OpenAI Confirms AI Agents for 2025: What This Means for You

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OpenAI Confirms AI Agents for 2025: What This Means for You

OpenAI is set to launch "agents" next year, which are autonomous AI models capable of performing various tasks without needing human input. These agents could soon be integrated into ChatGPT. At OpenAI's first DevDay event in San Francisco, CEO Sam Altman stated, "2025 is when agents will work," and showcased an early demonstration where a voice assistant independently made a call and ordered strawberries.

OpenAI describes five stages leading to Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), with current AI at stage two—where it can reason through an idea before responding. Stage three, which introduces agents, will enable AI to not only reason but also take independent actions as part of its response planning. Altman mentioned that the o1 family of models will play a crucial role in developing agent-grade AI, with the first examples expected to arrive soon. However, the challenge will be ensuring these agents align with human values and don’t act against humanity's interests.

For example, an AI agent could write a book, figure out how to self-publish it, and sign up for an Amazon Kindle Direct account. Altman emphasized that agents are a crucial step toward AGI, as they will need to perform tasks to achieve their objectives. He also noted during DevDay that creating an AI system better at AI research than OpenAI itself would be a significant milestone.

Building useful AI agents requires continuous progress based on previous AI models, with Altman explaining that the o1 models will make agents a reality. Once deployed, agents could dramatically reduce the time it takes to complete complex tasks—what once took a month could be done in just an hour.

With each new model release, OpenAI rigorously tests its safety, assessing it against a set of standards to determine if it's ready for public use. This process has led to delays in the past, as guardrails are placed on the models to prevent certain actions.

A notable example is the GPT-4o model, which can generate images, create music, and even mimic voices, but those features are restricted by safety measures. You can tell the model is capable of these tasks because occasionally, the guardrails fail.

When AI agents become more advanced, they could help with tasks like sorting through hundreds of thousands of unread emails. Jokingly, if the risk of agents going rogue is the price to pay for reaching inbox zero, some might say, "Bring on the Terminators."

However, broken guardrails could pose a more serious problem with AI agents, as they might have access to personal information, like bank accounts, or perform actions online, such as hiring someone on Fiverr or issuing voice commands.

During OpenAI’s Dev Day, a voice bot was shown calling a seller (played by a researcher), ordering 400 chocolate-covered strawberries, providing an address, and offering to pay in cash. The bot identified itself as an AI assistant, but at times it was difficult to distinguish from a human.

In an interview with the FT, OpenAI's chief product officer, Kevin Weil, mentioned that their goal is for people to interact with AI as naturally as they would with another person. Weil added that AI agents, set to go mainstream next year, will help achieve this vision. He also suggested that one safety feature could be requiring AI agents to always disclose their identity, although, as demonstrated with GPT-4o’s advanced capabilities, such restrictions don’t always hold up perfectly.

On a personal note, I’m excited for the arrival of AI agents. As someone who codes, these agents will speed up my workflow by handling some of the tedious testing processes. And if they can finally help me clear my massive email backlog, I'm more than ready for them—even if it comes with a bit of risk.

Ryan Serhant on AI: How Technology is Enhancing, Not Replacing, Real Estate Agents’ Personal Touch

The real estate industry, traditionally slow to modernize, is being transformed by artificial intelligence (AI), which is reshaping how buyers and sellers engage with agents and changing the competitive landscape. AI is automating many routine tasks—such as generating property listings and analyzing neighborhoods—allowing agents to refocus their efforts. 

Ryan Serhant, CEO of Serhant and star of "Owning Manhattan," believes AI is shifting the industry from simply providing information to fostering deeper relationships between agents and clients. Speaking at the CNBC Evolve AI Opportunity Summit in New York City, Serhant highlighted the need for agents to differentiate themselves in an increasingly competitive market, where AI levels the playing field in terms of expertise. “If we all have the same tools, what matters is capturing attention,” he said.

As buying a home is one of the most significant financial decisions for many Americans, Serhant sees AI as a tool that frees up agents' time to offer more personalized service. According to him, success in real estate is less about technical skills and more about applying those skills with focused attention.

Serhant’s company has launched “Simple,” an automated system that handles repetitive customer relationship management tasks, which typically consume more than 60% of an agent’s time. While AI is enhancing lead generation, marketing automation, and predictive analytics, it isn't replacing agents but enhancing their ability to perform better. Serhant argues that agents who embrace AI will strengthen their client relationships, rather than diminish them.

By making access to market data and sales insights easier, AI may enable smaller boutique agencies to compete with larger firms. Serhant emphasizes the importance of trust in sales, stating that it's not about size, but about how empowered an agent is.

AI adoption in real estate is still in its early stages, and many professionals lack a deep understanding of its potential. However, interest is growing. According to JLL Technologies’ 2023 Global Real Estate Technology Survey, generative AI is expected to be one of the top three technologies influencing real estate over the next three years, despite low familiarity among industry professionals.

Serhant believes agents who master AI will have significant opportunities over the next two decades to gain market share. However, he also acknowledges the risks, particularly the rise in wire fraud, which has been worsened by AI. The FBI reported a sharp increase in cybercrime losses related to real estate in 2023, driven largely by fraudulent transactions. Still, Serhant is confident that, as with past technological advances, regulations will evolve to address these challenges.

Google's Bikram Singh Bedi on AI Agents Beyond Chatbots

AI chatbots like Gemini and ChatGPT are designed to hold conversations on various topics using natural language models, but they are only effective when activated by a human and are focused on achieving specific outcomes. However, the industry is rapidly evolving beyond chatbots, which are limited to text responses and AI-generated images or videos, toward the next frontier: AI agents.

"Bots are just the starting point. Now, we're looking at capturing sentiment, adding multilingual capabilities, and understanding the customer's mood," says Bikram Singh Bedi, Vice President and Country MD of Google Cloud India. He views AI agents as the natural progression from chatbots.

Google, along with other developers, is now focused on creating "AI agents" capable of acting autonomously without human input, moving toward full automation. These AI agents, which go beyond generating simple responses like chatbots, can carry out complex, multistep tasks and generate their own to-do lists. As envisioned by companies like Google, these agents have the potential to transform the way we work. Bedi told indianexpress.com that AI agents are already being implemented in India. He highlights Federal Bank's ‘FEDDY,’ an AI-powered virtual assistant, which has reduced customer care costs by 50% and increased the bank’s Net Promoter Score (NPS) by 25%, with virtual queries doubling since its launch.

AI agents are addressing both internal productivity challenges and customer service needs, though their use may differ by industry. For instance, the implementation strategy for an insurance company might differ from that of a bank, even though both are in financial services. Bedi points out that the impact of AI agents is being felt in various sectors like HR and large companies, including Google itself. Google, Microsoft, and OpenAI are all working on customizable AI agents capable of automating more intricate, multi-step tasks for enterprises and consumers alike. Earlier this year, at Google Cloud Next, Google introduced Vertex AI Agent Builder, a no-code tool that helps businesses create AI agents by combining Vertex AI Search and Conversation products, broadening the developer toolkit for generative AI agents.

The app will embed the AI agent, which can then connect to various backend systems. The platform is open-source, meaning that not only Google but also the developer community will contribute to its advancement. Bedi highlights Google’s unique position, stating that while other vendors buy and resell technology, Google has built the entire AI stack in-house.

However, there are safety concerns surrounding AI agents, including risks such as hallucinations, bias, potential fabrications, and delays due to the complexity of the tasks these agents perform. Despite significant investment from both Big Tech and startups in AI agent development, experts caution that widespread adoption is still some time away.

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The AgentsX.AI Team