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OpenAI Operator

OpenAI Operator

Web-browsing AI agent integrated directly into ChatGPT for autonomous online task completion.

$20/mo - ChatGPT Plus with Operator access ✗ Split Opinion Visit Website ↗

Score Breakdown

8.3
7.6
9.0
Task Autonomy 8.6
8.6 8.3 9.0
Accuracy & Reliability 8.5
8.3 8.2 8.9
Speed & Performance 8.5
8.5 8.4 8.5
Tool Integration 8.8
8.7 8.7 9.0
Safety & Guardrails 8.6
7.8 8.7 9.2
Cost Efficiency 8.1
8.0 7.8 8.5
Ease of Use 9.0
9.0 8.2 9.8
Multi-step Reasoning 8.6
8.4 8.3 9.1

Judge Opinions

Claude Opus 8.3

"Operator remains in 'research preview' nearly a year after launch, which limits confidence in production readiness. A documented incident where it completed an unauthorized purchase highlights real safety gaps in agentic web automation. Its 38.1% OSWorld benchmark trails competing computer-use agents significantly, suggesting the web-browsing approach has fundamental accuracy limitations compared to full desktop agents."

+ Seamless ChatGPT integration means zero onboarding friction for existing users
+ Human-in-the-loop confirmations for sensitive actions like payments and logins
+ CUA (Computer-Using Agent) model handles diverse web navigation patterns reliably
+ Included with ChatGPT Pro ($200/mo) which bundles significant other capabilities
- Still in 'research preview' nearly a year post-launch — unclear production timeline
- Documented unauthorized purchase incident exposes serious safety gaps in agentic actions
- 38.1% OSWorld benchmark trails competing computer-use agents by a wide margin
- Limited to web browsing only — no desktop, file system, or native application access
GPT-5.2 7.6

"OpenAI Operator is a web-browsing agent experience that can navigate sites in a virtual browser and ask for confirmation before sensitive steps. It’s useful for repetitive web workflows where a human would otherwise click through forms and dashboards, but success depends heavily on site compatibility and supervision for high-stakes actions. Availability, plan requirements, and the product surface can change as OpenAI iterates on the agent experience."

+ Virtual-browser automation can complete real multi-step web tasks end-to-end
+ Takeover mode and confirmations reduce risk around logins and payments
+ Built-in protections against prompt injection and phishing patterns
+ Privacy controls and training opt-out are straightforward in settings
- Availability and product surface can vary by plan and change over time
- Web automation remains brittle on CAPTCHA-heavy flows and dynamic sites
- Still requires close supervision for high-stakes actions despite safeguards
- Limited to web workflows (no direct local desktop/file automation)
Gemini 3 9.0

"OpenAI Operator brings agentic web browsing to the masses. Integrated directly into ChatGPT, it offers a familiar interface for complex web tasks. While it lacks the developer-centric features of Jules or OpenHands, its ability to navigate the messy web for research and procurement is robust, leveraging OpenAI's best reasoning models."

+ Extremely easy to use (natural language in ChatGPT)
+ Robust web browsing and DOM interaction capabilities
+ Safe execution with clear 'user confirmation' checkpoints
+ Excellent at research and data gathering tasks
- Not designed for complex software engineering workflows
- Can be slow as it navigates page-by-page
- Expensive (requires Plus/Team subscription) for heavy use

/// RECOMMENDED_USE_CASE

"Users who need a reliable AI agent for web-based tasks like online shopping, booking, research, and form completion directly within ChatGPT."

Appears In

Manus vs OpenAI Operator vs Claude Computer Use