Automating Complex Tasks With ChatGPTs New AI Agent

The Next Wave in AI: Autonomous Agents

There's a new buzzword making waves in the tech world: AI agents. Imagine a hyper-efficient virtual assistant that doesn't just answer questions but actively performs tasks on your behalf. From finding a rare item online to optimizing your daily commute or analyzing market trends, the new ChatGPT Agent feature is pushing the boundaries of what generative AI can accomplish. You give the command, and it gets to work.

Think of tools like Manus or Perplexity Labs—they are designed to be at your service. This is the core concept of an AI agent: a digital sidekick ready to carry out your requests with minimal supervision. You simply state your goal, and the agent takes over, figuring out the steps and navigating obstacles on its own. It will only check back with you if it gets completely stuck, much like a human assistant would.

The Evolution to ChatGPT Agent

Initially, ChatGPT's foray into this space was a tool called Auto-GPT, which many found complex. In response, OpenAI developed two more focused modes:

• Deep Search Mode: Designed for comprehensive and in-depth web research.
• Operator Mode: An internal tool that mimicked human online actions like scrolling, typing, and using third-party applications such as Gmail, Outlook, Google Docs, and Excel.

ChatGPT Agent is the culmination of these efforts, rolling both powerful features into a single, unified tool. The best way to grasp its power is to see it in action on a real mission.

Getting Started with ChatGPT Agent

If you have a paid subscription like ChatGPT Plus, you can access this new feature. To activate it, click the '+' icon in the chat interface. Just below the option to “Add photos and files,” you will see “Agent mode.” Tapping it will enable the feature, and you'll be notified that you have approximately 40 uses per month.

Implementation of ChatGPT’s AI Agent mode. © OpenAI

Once enabled, you will see a “Source” label. You can enhance the agent's capabilities by linking it to your personal apps under “Additional connections.” Supported applications include Gmail, Google Drive, Outlook, Slack, and Dropbox. Be sure to connect any services you want the agent to use for your tasks.

Consider allowing connections to the applications you want the agent to control. © OpenAI

A Real-World SEO Challenge for the Agent

To test its capabilities, the ChatGPT Agent was given a complex, real-world task:

“I have a web page about the song Imagine by John Lennon: https://ichbiah.com/extraits/divers/imagine.htm

I want to boost its SEO. So please find French-language directories that are clearly music or arts-related. Check their domain authority using tools like Ahrefs or Majestic to make sure they’re safe for Google. If they pass, go ahead and list my page. Send me the links you create in a table or Google Sheet.”

This is not a simple request. Effective SEO requires focusing on high-quality, relevant directories. Immediately after receiving the prompt, the agent opened a separate window and began searching for French-language music directories, providing live updates on its progress in the corner of the screen.

In a window, we can see ChatGPT Agent consulting music-related directories one by one. © OpenAI

As instructed, it meticulously checked each site's domain authority before attempting to submit the webpage.

For each directory found, ChatGPT Agent checks its rating to see if a submission would be beneficial.

After its initial search, the agent reported back that it had only found one suitable music-specific directory. It then asked for permission to expand its search to include reputable general-purpose directories, which was granted.

The agent navigated challenges like captchas and submission errors, often making multiple attempts to succeed. For each successful submission, it autonomously filled out the required forms, wrote a unique description for the webpage, and submitted it. On one occasion, it even requested an email address to finalize a submission on a high-ranking site.

ChatGPT Agent automatically fills out each registration form and generates necessary text, such as a site description. © OpenAI

The Verdict: An Impressive Feat of Automation

The entire project took about an hour. At the end, the ChatGPT Agent delivered a neatly organized list of submission links in both Excel and Google Sheets formats. For a human, this same multi-step task could have easily consumed an entire afternoon, proving the agent's incredible potential for automating complex workflows and boosting productivity.