What it is

Operator is OpenAI's browser-using agent. It opens a remote browser, sees the screen, and can navigate, click, type, and fill forms to complete a task on your behalf. Useful for repetitive web tasks like booking, ordering, or filling standardized forms, though it can still get stuck on unusual UIs.

Best for

Fill in repetitive online forms
Book simple appointments (restaurants, services)
Place routine online orders

Pros

Can use the web like a human — no API integrations needed
Built on a strong vision model that handles most UIs

Cons

Slow (it thinks in steps, not seconds)
Expensive — bundled with $200/mo ChatGPT Pro
Still struggles with CAPTCHAs and unusual layouts

Quick start

Subscribe to ChatGPT Pro ($200/mo) — Operator is bundled in. Plus / Team access is rolling out.
Open ChatGPT → use case → "Run tasks with Operator" → describe what you need (e.g. "Find the cheapest direct flight from SFO to Tokyo between Nov 10–17").
Operator opens its own virtual browser, navigates with mouse + keyboard, asks you to confirm sensitive steps (payments, login).
July 2026 update: rolled into the new "ChatGPT Agent" which combines Operator + Deep Research + ChatGPT into one tool that picks tools on its own.
On benchmarks: Humanity's Last Exam 41.6% / 44.4% with parallel votes; BrowseComp 68.9% (SOTA).

Sample input / output

Input

Task: "Browse the NFL schedule for the 2025 regular season and plan a route to see all 30 MLB teams ballparks, including hotels and a final CSV + map."

Output

Operator + Deep Research workflow:
  - ~10 min runtime in its virtual computer
  - Output: Excel itinerary + interactive map visualization (slides-ready)
  - Visible screen-recording of every browser action
  - Tools chosen dynamically: visual browser for booking sites, text browser for long-form schedules, terminal for CSV cleanup

Benchmarks

Humanity's Last Exam (single pass) 41.6% (was 26.6% for Deep Research alone) — OpenAI July 2026

BrowseComp 68.9% (SOTA; +17.4 vs Deep Research) — OpenAI July 2026

FrontierMath 27.4% accuracy — OpenAI July 2026

Investment-banking analyst tasks Matches / beats junior IB associates (1–3 yrs experience) — OpenAI demo, July 2026

Underlying model (May 2025) CUA, built on o3 — 至顶网

Pricing

Included with ChatGPT Pro ($200/mo)

Underlying models

Computer-Using Agent (CUA) — o3 vision-action modelTools: built-in visual browser + text browser + terminal + API access

Should you pick this?

Pick it if You already pay for ChatGPT Pro and want hands-off browser tasks — Operator (now ChatGPT Agent) gives you the best-in-class UX and is included in the $200/mo plan.

Skip it if You want self-hosting, fine-grained control, or a programmatic API — Browser Use, Firecrawl, and Playwright give you building blocks at a fraction of the cost.

ChatGPT Operator