OpenAI launched its first AI agent about a month ago. Called Operator, the ChatGPT model can be a brilliant tool for improving productivity. The agent can browse the web for specific tasks on a virtual computer, and I can’t wait to try it.
Operator won’t need to control an internet browser on my computer, and it’ll be able to run multiple tasks in parallel, each one in its virtual browser. The AI navigates pages mimicking a mouse and keyboard input, and you can verify the steps it takes to execute a command.
Also, the AI won’t input sensitive data like credit cards on your behalf and will need human interaction for some tasks.
As much as I wanted to start integrating Operator into my ChatGPT experience, I couldn’t do it because of two important limitations. First, Operator is available only to ChatGPT Pro subscribers, and I’m not about to pay $200/month for Operator and Deep Research. Then, OpenAI made Operator available only in the US.
Thankfully, OpenAI is starting to fix these issues. The AI agent is available in more markets, though it’s still exclusive to the Pro tier.
OpenAI announced on X a few hours ago the Operator expansion to more countries:
Operator is now rolling out to Pro users in Australia, Brazil, Canada, India, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, the UK, and most places ChatGPT is available.
Notably absent from the list are the EU and a few additional countries. However, the company said in the same tweet that it’s still working on “Operator available in the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Liechtenstein & Iceland.”
This usually happens with the rollout of some key ChatGPT features for the EU. OpenAI needs more time to deploy them, as the European block has tighter regulation for all things tech.
Unfortunately, that means I still need to wait for Operator to roll along in the EU. This delay is also one reason I’m not considering upgrading my $20 Plus subscription to the $200 Pro tier. Even if Operator were available in the EU, I still can’t justify paying for the more expensive subscription.
There’s no telling when Operator will be available to ChatGPT Plus users. But we know from Sam Altman that Deep Research, the second AI agent OpenAI launched in a matter of weeks, will be available to Plus subscribers. Deep Research is also exclusive to ChatGPT Plus users for now. Operator will likely follow suit.
Also, Altman mentioned plans to come up with new monetization options for ChatGPT that can better address the dynamic needs of users. It’s unclear when that will happen, especially with OpenAI working on releasing the GPT-4.5 and GPT-5 upgrades.
Altman already said OpenAI wants to fix one of the big issues with the ChatGPT experience: picking a model. I want the AI to just know what tools to use when I make a request. It should determine whether my prompt needs reasoning or not and whether it should be passed on to Operator, Deep Research, or a different AI agent. For that to happen, the AI should also know whether I have the right subscription or budget to pay for the more advanced models.
Before any of that happens, I’d expect Operator and Deep Research to become available to more paid ChatGPT users, and launch in more markets.
